Trapped in Stone Mall
by LynxbyLynx
Summary: Welcome to Stone Mall. It appears that some Aliens have been let loose inside it. Don't worry. It's locked and the only thing inside are the people in the mall...the Aliens...and predators. Oh. What's this? A predalien as well? Sucks for those inside.
1. Mall Rush

[I do not own any Predators or Aliens. ((Be cool if I did though?)) I own my characters and ideas. This is loosely based off a REALLY old role play idea I tried to start with a friend of mine. The role play failed…but the idea stuck in the back of my head. Begging to get out. So…Here we go~ Read and Review Please. ((I don't use Beta readers, prolly should but I don't understand how that really works)) Also, if you notice the inconsistency with my other stories. I start and stop them just depending on my mood. I plan on writing this one out…Like all the others…But hey, reviewing helps promote people and I'm currently on spring break. So…Without further ado…My story….Or…Chapter One…Actually, I want you to know that I don't do the whole other names for the Aliens and Predators. My knowledge comes from the movies…All I've seen are the movies…So sue me for sticking to that…and for all the misnaming of things…it's a fan fiction though.]

Chapter One: Mall Rush

Victoria Springfield was the high school's drama queen. Queen Bitch if you want. To me? Queen Bitch worked well. Who was I? The silent dork who liked theatre, art, music and literature. The 'emo' girl or 'gothic' chick. Just because I like the color black does NOT make me emo. Don't call someone Goth unless you understand it. What did Goth mean? It wasn't ALL about the black. It was about using the body as it's own art canvas of self-expression. I supported that sure, but I preferred the colors black. Sometimes others, if they were dark. Occasionally a few bright colors. Not enough to take away from the whole look of mystery I liked to give off. So you might be asking yourselves, what did I DO to deserve ridicule from the Queen Bitch? What did I do to DESERVE her attention? I got too close to her boyfriend at one time. Before John Travis was dating her. He'd been hanging out with me. Elizabeth Monroe. People call me Liz for short.

"And…Scene Two is a bit of a bore," I muttered, sitting on the edge of the stage with legs dangling from it. I had on black leggings under a plaid ((black/red combo)) mini-skirt and my black tight tee-shirt with the red words 'Bite Me' across it. My black boots were mid-shin design. I tapped an emerald green nail across the yellow legal pad in my lap as I reviewed the script my friend Terra had written for the school play. No one was in the auditorium and it was where I went to do all my thinking. I drummed my nails across the scribbles and let out a huff of frustration. I set the pad to the side and laid back, enjoying the feel of the cool floor against my back. I used to be into dance. Ballet.

"How's the play going?" a male voice called out, startling me. I sat up a bit wide-eyed and hurried to get up, thinking it was a teacher. No. Instead it was John Travis. My old best friend. I felt my heart speed up for some reason and my face getting a bit hot. What the heck?

"It's uh…going," I muttered. /_Look anywhere but at him/_/ I thought to myself, studying the floor. It was all scuffed up from use. I noticed he was wearing those thick work boots. My eyes traveled up those usually torn and scruffy jeans of his, up to his white t-shirt that pulled a bit tight over his muscles and then to his face. Oh. His face. Flawless to me. A slightly large nose with had a small bulge possibly from a fight. Mischievous green eyes peered out from under light sandy blonde hair. Nicely tanned skin from long days out working bare shirted at his dad's ranch. Oh. He'd also gotten taller. How long had it been? Considering we were seniors this year, and Victoria had claimed him in the 9th grade. We'd known each other since kindergarten. He had that mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh? Need any help?" he asked, with that slightly southern drawl to it. Something you were born with and couldn't get rid of. Not me. I'd escaped that. Luckily.

"n-no," I stammered quickly, tucking a violet strand of hair behind an ear of mine. I swallowed nervously as well. I had on my black lace fingerless gloves today. My skin looked ghost-white in comparison to his Godly features. When had he grown so attractively? Gone from cute to…knock dead gorgeous. He stole my breath away. Victoria was lucky. Silence was following. "Uh, Isn't Icky Vicky going to miss you?" I demanded, unable to keep the venom from my voice. His light chuckle startled me.

"Well Liz," he murmured in that deep voice of his, trailing a finger down my right arm lightly. I swear I was going to burst into flames. "If we were-"

"JOHN? WHERE THE HELL ARE Y-?" Victoria started to shout, storming into the auditorium. She froze when she saw us. Flame red hair to the small of her back, deep shades of amber orbs planted perfectly above a small little nose and soft lips. She'd touched up on her makeup. One slender eyebrow rose almost challengingly above her eye. "Well John, I'm surprised to find you here…We have to get to the mall remember?" She walked over to us, hips swaying with just the right amount of 'ah' to them. She wore designer clothes. She looked like a goddess tossed down to Earth. It wasn't fair. She had a fair complexion. That light creamy skin people die for. She entwined an arm with John's. "Oh…hello Elizabeth," she sneered, making my name sound like something had died," Didn't see you there…" she let out a fake little laugh," John and I must get going…Can't spend time…wasting." She gave me a poisonous smile before walking off with John attached to her. I suppressed a sigh.

The mall. Stone Mall. Just like Stone High was our school. Sheesh. With a name like that, what did you expect from the majority of the student body? But the special thing about this mall-besides the fact that Victoria's dad was mayor and had it built for her-well the special thing…Oh, I already said didn't I? Well, this mall is a huge deal in our small simple town of…how many idiots? 2,000? Maybe? It was a small town. So the mall was a big deal. For a bit. Sure, some people went out of their way to go to it. But there weren't usually many people there. High school teens hung out after school in the food court to dine out on pizza. Not healthy but it's what we did. I thought about it. There wasn't anything too special about it right? Just that people on occasion hung out there….Like John.

: : _Want to hang out? _: : My cell buzzed with a text from none-other-than my best friend Terra. I smiled, picking up my stuff.

: : _Sure. But where at? _: : I text back as quickly as I can as I head for my ride. A simple truck of simple design. It was practically falling apart anyways. My cell buzzes again in my pocket and I actually have to dig for it, also trying to find the keys to said truck.

: : _My house?…or try the mall? _: : I make a face at her text. Her mansion of a house or the huge mall of sheer boredom? A second text interrupts my musings. : : _Sorry. Brain lag. How about we just chill out at the park tonight?_ : : I smile.

: :_Sure thing…See you in a few_: :

: :_OH! Bring the script. We'll review it: _: I suppressed an inward groan. OF COURSE she'd want to go over that thing. I'd told her over and over that play writing just wasn't meant for her. Did she ever listen to me? No.

** / ** / ** ((Scene Change)) *** / ** / **

Crash landing. Not exactly what they had in mind when they'd hit the atmosphere. Unfortunately, neither of them knew how to FLY this contraption called a ship. They'd borrowed it for a small 'joy-ride' when they'd received the broadcast that some xenomorphs were loose on Earth. So the first thing a couple of Youngblood Yautija did while they were cruising the system is head for Earth. They too wanted to prove their worth against the steadily growing breed of Xenomorphs. They bred like…. Rh'vage tilted his head back in thought. Vis'chus spared him a side-long glance. Rh'vage shook his head slightly to let the younger of the two know he was fine. No need to worry Vis'chus about this. Rh'vage had spent time learning of Xenomorphs. He was an expert in that area. Almost. He wasn't an expert in Earth. That was Vis'chus. The genius on Ooman. Ha. They were like insects. Destroying themselves. The Yautija would NEVER be like that. Ever.

"Something bothers you brother," Vis'chus stated, staring at the screen before him. Star charts. His mask sat upon his lap and his clawed hands nervously twitched on them. They were prepared for this. Considering the rite of passage for them was only in a few times pass. All they had to do was wait. But they couldn't. The two wanted to experience the world. They'd get it when the Elders found out. But they wouldn't find out soon would they? Hah. In fact, the two would be praised when they returned from cleaning up this little incident at Earth. What was the worst that could happen?

That's what he'd thought before they'd crash landed. Was that what it was called? Systems screamed alerts at him as he picked himself up from the ground where he'd been thrown due to the rough landing. His head was hurting up something fierce. He glanced around for Vis'chus. Where could the younger one have gone? He quickly attached his mask, still furious. What had gone wrong? They'd preprogrammed the flight in. Proper course and…He roared in anger. Of course. The star charts had seemed off…They probably hadn't been updated. This whole piece of junk of a ship needed to be scrapped. No need to worry about that. He needed to find his brother. And judging from the amount of green sticky blood everywhere, he needed to find him fast. He stepped out of the remainder of their ship, scanning his surroundings. No signs of life nearby….or…He smacked his mask before the readings changed. Two heat sources…but no brother. How long had he been out after that crash?

** / ** / ** ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / **

"That's so…romantic," Terra said dreamily from where she swung lightly back and forth from the swing. The full moon was out and lit up the entire park, creating an almost dream-like feel to it. I laid in the grass beside the swing set with the script out. I'd been reading it aloud for Terra. She wasn't being much help, and it was her senior project. Not mine. I glanced over at her. She had dark brown hair and chestnut hair that hung into her face with little curls. She had the overall appearance of a much younger girl than eighteen years. She looked closer to fifteen. She had on jeans and a light blue jacket over a white t-shirt. Something snapped a tree limb close by, startling us. Terra leapt quickly out of the swing and closer to me, staring off into the darkness. "What was that?"

"Meh…probably a stray animal," I muttered, scratching out another line of dialogue with my pen. I was using my side backpack as a pillow. Another tree limb snapped, louder and closer. My pen paused amidst its scribbling. I could tell that Terra was starting to get a little terrified. "Jeez…no reason to be Terra-fied…" I smiled at her and she glared at me.

"I'm not joking….There's something…out there," she said staring out at the woods. Suddenly she screeched," SEE THAT?" She was pointing wildly into the tree line. I sat up to look.

"What?" I snapped, not seeing anything but trees and…something really tall thing heading for us. "I don't see any….Oh…That's….not normal…" I scrambled up quickly. The thing had to be at least seven feet tall. I was almost six but not quite. Terra was five exactly. I grabbed her hand and we ran for my truck. I was out of there before I realized neither of us had gotten a good look at whatever it was. Oh well. Didn't matter. Then I realized I'd left my purse. Oh COME ON. "Shit…"

"What?" Terra asked terrified. She was still turned around in her seat staring at the back window as we continued down the street.

"Nothing…I just….left my purse," I muttered. Her eyes widened. "I've gotta go get it…"

"But-" She started.

"Don't worry…I'll drop you off first," I reassured her as we continued onwards to her house. She didn't seem reassured but climbed out anyways.

"Uh….be safe…and uh…call me when you get home kay?" she asked me and I nodded. Anything to get her to stop worrying. I turned the truck around and headed back to the park. What had that thing been? Some really tall person creeping around the woods at night. Right~

** / ** / ** / ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / ** / ** / **

Rh'vage was getting pretty fed up with this backwater of a planet. Earth. What kind of name was that? His dreadlocks swished around as he continued onwards. Where was his brother? Surely the idiot hadn't thought he could take on the Xenomorphs by himself…especially not injured…It was this fact that worried him most. His brother didn't operate well under pain. His scans indicated two small ooman females were nearby. Now, all he had to do was go and ask for directions. Access to a star chart. Maybe some tools to repair his ship or material. Even something to eat. His audio sensors picked up their conversation even before he got into a range where they would hear him. If they could.

"Yeah…So, this part where this girl…Good god woman…What kind of name is that?" one of them snapped. At least the voice wasn't screechy like the other ooman recordings were. It was a bit low and soft.

"AW! I worked hard on that!" Another one protested. This voice grated on him. High-pitched and whiny. Ugh. Just like that stupid ooman recording.

"That doesn't mean anything," the one with the gentle voice continued. It soothed him oddly enough and he felt drawn to it. But he supposed that could have something to do with his massive headache. "Now…No one can start to RELATE to the characters if they have unpronounceable names…" Something that sounded like a sigh.

"Can't you do it for me?" the one with the grating voice whined. Oh, how he wanted to vaporize her right then and there. Anything to stop his headache.

"No…I can't," the soothing one muttered almost amused. He could almost sense her smug smile. "Now…I think in the second scene…Instead of outright kissing her…he should lead her on a bit…Talk about how his mother's doing better…all the while getting closer to her…" The girl's voice had dropped done to a tone he understood. Much like when the Elders were attempting to paint a picture with their words about some great battle scene. "So close…they almost touch…she looks away…but back…drawn in by his words…unable to stop the growing attraction…She leans forward…Their lips brush-"

"That's so…romantic," the other whispered, seeming a bit breathless. At least her voice no longer grated. He stepped on a tree limb he hadn't noticed and it snapped audibly. "What was that?" Scratch that. Her voice would always be annoying. All ooman had annoying voices.

"Meh…probably a stray animal," the other one said dismissively. He could see she was laying down, writing on something. In his haste to get there, he stepped on another limb. Damn this forest. "Jeez…no reason to be Terra-fied…" She continued jokingly.

"I'm not joking….There's something…out there," she said staring out at the woods. Suddenly she screeched," SEE THAT?" She was pointing wildly into the tree line. At him of course. Was he visible?

"What?" the other one snapped sitting up. Obviously irritated. She seemed to be looking for something. Then spotted him. "I don't see any….Oh…That's….not normal…" The two scrambled away hurriedly. Okay. He wasn't cloaked. Idiot. He hit the cloaking mechanism. The two hopped into some type of transportation system and were soon gone. He spotted that the soothing voice had left some type of…device? A satchel? What was it that female ooman kept on them? Purse? Yes…Purse. She'd left her purse for him. He quickly went through it. Seeking some type of identification. Ooman had those. Right? His claws found what they were seeking. A flimsy plastic card with a picture and…information. Elizabeth Monroe. Seventeen Years of age. 130 pounds. 5' 7". Lived…128 Singer Road. Now…where was that? He left with the purse. Not considering the fact that the young ooman female might return for it. He had to find his brother.

** / ** / ** / ** / ** ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / ** / **

"Where the hell is it?" I demanded, searching the area for a purse. I combed the ground, using the flashlight from my truck. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That creep must've taken my purse. It had my wallet and license in it. That had my address on it. This didn't worry me as much as it should probably. I could just call the police later. It's not like I had any money in it, and hey…maybe they'd return it. I had a hairbrush and some chap stick in it. Also some gum. I'd miss the gum. Then there was my nail polish. The ruby red one. I sighed and went back to my scruffy red pick-up truck. I climbed into it, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel when suddenly the back of my truck bounced as something heavy landed on it. I whirled around, peering into the dark. Seeing nothing. Then…something greenish? Glowing almost. I climbed back out of my truck, swallowing nervously.

The green gunk was splattered in the back of my truck. I poked a finger out and tentatively poked the stuff. It felt a little warm and was definitely liquid. I rubbed my fingers together to feel it. Yeah. It looked like a glow stick mixed with some type of jelly. I felt the corner of my lips pull into a bit of a smile at the thought then frowned. How had it gotten there. I glanced at my back tires, noting that they looked much like something very heavy was resting in my truck. What in the world? Then I noticed it. The glow in the dark streak in the air. That's where the stuff was coming from. I climbed up into the back of my truck and noticed that the streak moved. Was this possible? Then a horn honked, startling me. I whirled around and spotted the mustang that John drove around. Usually with Victoria though. However this time he was alone. I forget about the busted glow stick problem immediately.

** / ** / ** / ** / ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / ** / **

Rh'vage was dead when I found him. Or, he would be if I knew where he was. How would he die? By the angry hands of Vis'chus. That's for sure. I'd wounded my left thigh somehow during our crash land. How was I suppose to know that Rh'vage had no flight experience? Yes, he wasn't much older than I but he was OLDER which meant he was suppose to be more responsible than me. Instead, it seemed more and more like I was the one cleaning up his messes. All because of his boredom. His boredom had lead us here. What had been a simple flight through another stupid galaxy…all because of some stupid call about Xenomorphs. Alas. My anger is misplaced. This world had done nothing to really extract my rage. In fact, I was somehow alive BECAUSE of it.

I growled from beneath my mask, checking that my cloaking mechanism was engaged. Knowing Rh'vage the idiot hadn't activated it. How was he the first one awake? Okay…I admit I'd been awake…I'd exited the ship…and what do you know? I found an Xenomorph lurking. A freaking queen for that matter. She'd attacked me, that dumb tail of hers. I personally hated Xenomorphs but didn't really know anything about them. That was Rh'vage. His department of expertise. They just looked…icky. Bodily secretions just oozing out everywhere. Gah. No wonder the Elder Council was doing their best to be rid of them. We use to have rite of passages based on survival of these guys. Not anymore. Well…some of us did. Anyway, I'd gotten injured…and had woken up with the injury still bleeding and a massive ache in my chest. I suppose that's what I get for breathing the air on this planet. My mask hadn't been attached for that long. It'd been dark. No one was around. I'd even made it to the Ooman…park. It's like a thing for very young Ooman to entertain themselves at. Yes. I was an expert on this planet. My throat hurt, another problem from the atmospheric levels. I think. Although…couldn't we survive without our masks for a bit. Yeah. So why did my chest hurt? Just small twinges, nothing major right now. I dismissed it.

Someone's truck pulled up as I was following the residual markings my brother had left here. He'd been in contact with ooman. Surprisingly…I bet he was trying to ask for directions. Ugh. My chest felt tighter and the wound in my thigh was still dripping. I needed to get it treated. The young female ooman who climbed out had a flashlight and was searching the ground where my brother had recently been. Looking for something.

"Where the hell is it?" the ooman snapped defensively. I was at least a little glad she didn't sound like the training recordings. If you believed those to be what ooman females sounded like…then you'd never visit earth again. She was getting back inside her transportation vehicle. Ah. Here was my chance to get a ride. It would save the strain on my thigh wound. I leapt up effortlessly landed on the back of the truck. It shook a bit under my weight but I was cloaked. I saw terrified eyes searching the darkness. As if looking straight through me. In a way she was. She seemed to spot something and climbed out. I crouched in the truck, knowing she couldn't see me but amazed that she was this close to someone who could end her life. She couldn't see me…she couldn't see me. Her fingers slid through some of my luminescent blood and she held it close to look at. Oh. She couldn't see me…but she could definitely see that. Her eyes flicked to me. Startling me, but no. She was looking at my wound that was glowing. You have to hate physiology. She climbed up into the bed of the truck seeming to try and get a closer look. I shifted away just a bit and her eyes followed my movement.

Okay. Okay. Now what? I couldn't kill her. Where's the honor in that? She's defenseless…unless I pretend that the flashlight is a weapon. Who am I kidding? I can't pretend that tiny pencil stick of fake light was a weap-A horn blared interrupting my train of the thoughts. The ooman female whirled around, eyes seeking the source. That's right little human. Go on…Get off the truck. I spotted a male ooman. I wasn't one to judge appearances. Ooman kind of blended to me. Different colors, same basic shape. Not much distinguish. I let out a sigh and relaxed in the bed of the truck, keeping an eye on her.

"Oh…hey…John…uh…Where's…icky vi-I mean, Victoria?" the young ooman said quickly. The heat signatures in my visor were changing as I watched where the blood seemed to concentrate. For the female ooman…Her face was lighting up a blazing white in my vision. Why would all the blood go to her face? Was this a…oh right. Human emotional response. Anger…and…embarrassment? Or…something. I racked my brain trying to remember that lesson on Human emotions. I knew some had bad judgment. Something about always doing stuff they shouldn't. Occasionally they got lucky…A sharp pain in my chest cut me off and I rubbed at it. Why did it hurt like that? Maybe the crash had damaged more of me than I really wanted to admit. I took a deep rattling breath. I needed to find my brother. Stupid Ooman. Stupid Xenomorph. Stupid Rh'vage….I drifted off into unconsciousness.

[Read and Review folks. Let me know what you think about my first AVP fiction. Believable characters? You hate it? Etc…Have a nice day guys~]


	2. Tall Order

[I don't own any Aliens or Predators. ((I can dream right?)) Here's the second installment of this strange story. I'm taking huge liberties with this by the way. Especially with the Xenomorphs…er…Hope you enjoy. Read and Review please~]

[Update notice: I think I'm going back on the previous chapter and I'll _italic_ the Predator talk for when it's in THEIR language…to make it easier to tell when they are speaking to each other vs. speaking to the humans. But I realized that in the previous chapter. Only time they SPEAK in their native tongue is when Vis'chus makes an inquiry to his brother. We can just assume that's their tongue. Right?]

Chapter Two: Tall Order

I was tired as I trudged into my empty house. My dad wasn't home. Again. Probably out getting drunk with some stupid tramp from the bar. I shuffled on upstairs and to my bed where I flopped down on it. Ugh. I kicked off my boots, relaxing. The talk with John was fresh in my mind. He asked me what I was doing here and I admitted to forgetting my purse. He helped me look for it but to no avail. I asked him what he'd been doing here…he admitted to coming here at night to do thinking on occasion. I joked about him being able to think. It'd been nice. Then I'd had to go home. Even though it was a weekend night, being Friday, we kids had a curfew. I got back up off the bed, and trudged downstairs again to the kitchen. My front door was wide open.

"Strange…Wind must've blown it open," I muttered and went to close it. Then I spotted that glowing green crap on the floor, leading into my house. I paused, considering it. Was I dripping something? I searched my pockets for a broken glow stick. Honestly I half-expected to find one. My search revealed nothing. I followed the green trail to my kitchen where the freezer was open. We were missing some of our raw produce. Like chicken and beef. Okay. Weird. I shut the refrigerator and heard what could only be described as a god awful roar from the backyard. I noticed the stove was on as well and we were missing the large metal knife. I hurried outside, grabbing the bat along the way. I felt way more protected with a bat. I froze at my open backdoor and peered out into the dark. There it was…another tall person. Let me say person very loosely. He was big alright. Muscles and dreadlocks of doom. He had some kind of mask on the ground…And his face…had four appendages that waved about in the air like mandibles. I think I fainted right then and there. My head smacked the ground beneath me and the bat rolled away. The creature was heading for me, but I sank into blissful darkness.

I awoke laid out on the couch later with a blanket spread over me. What the hell…I sat up quickly and winced as pain rushed through my head. I noticed a glass of water on the table beside two Tylenol. I took them without a second thought and stood up, stretching but in pain. My shoulder had a bruise on it from hitting the doorframe on the way down. I noticed it was still dark. A glance at the clock showed that it was 3 in the morning. I'd been out for four hours. Holy shit. Then it came back to me. The creature. I hurried to the back door, which was closed. I glanced at the floor. No of the green glowing crap…in fact…that place looked a lot cleaner then before. Just a dream. Just a dream.

"You know…For an ooman…This place is pretty decent," a deep voice rolled out. It almost seemed like it was other male voices put together. I whirled around to see the really tall thing from earlier. He had…big muscles. A muscled torso, protected by some type of mesh. Dreadlocks. A strange mask on. Uh…some kind of…cloth thing over what I assumed had to be private parts. He was almost reptilian in nature. The voice seemed to alter, taking on a life of its own. "I mean…besides the mess and all-You aren't going to faint again are you?" The tone seemed to imply that he…I'm guessing it was a he…was amused. I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak just yet. I was fighting back the dizziness that threatened to consume me. Knowing if I did…I was going to get another bump on my head. He was leaning against my table. He seemed out of place in my house…it was too small for him. I swallowed nervously.

"…" I opened my mouth to try and say something but nothing came out. Just a bit of sound. Odd noise for me. I closed my mouth again and attempted another try. Still nothing.

"Hmm…Your heartbeat has escalated…Am I really that intimidating?" He asked me, shocking me. I took a step back. "Guess that answers it…You may call me…Vis'chus…I am in search of my brother Rh'vage…We crashed landed on this planet after receiving a broadcast about the whereabouts of some Xenomorphs on your-_There you go again._" My eyes rolled up into my head and I fell down. I don't remember actually hitting the ground again so this guy must've been really fast with the catching. The last bit it said had seemed like a series of clicks and pops, almost like a crab makes.

** / ** / ** / ** / ** ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / ** /

He'd found what he was looking for. A map. But it was all in Human English. His mask wasn't working properly either. He must've damaged it during the crash. Rh'vage took a deep calming breath. Not only was his cloaking device short-circuiting. But he was lost on this planet and didn't know where his brother was. There were also Xenomorphs lose. He felt woozy from the overload of information. He had serious problems. What would Vis'chus do if he came across an Xenomorph? The idiot probably wouldn't even try and destroy it…He'd probably try to reason with it…expecting it to have some intelligence. Rh'vage muttered darkly to himself as he crossed the humans street. He'd evaded the stupid little whiny metal things with their flashing lights. Something about them made him believe it'd be a good idea to avoid them. That was until he was almost hit by another one of those strange metallic things that sped around. It was inhabited by four intoxicated male Ooman. Not quite men.

"H-Hey Ugly~" one shouted out, laughing from his jeep. For that's what it was, though Rh'vage didn't know this fact just yet. He tilted his head to the side, intrigued by direct commentary. Supposedly Ooman feared them. Perhaps it had something to do with the levels of…intoxication upon them. Also. His cloaking device wasn't malfunctioning again. He hadn't gotten it wet though. His weapon mounted on his shoulder came to life, activating and charging…only to fizzle out and spit little blue bursts of electricity.

"Nice Halloween costume!" another one shouted out drunkenly. He glanced down at himself. Halloween Costume? What? He was garbed in the most up to date gear for a Yautija. It was Vis'chus who seemed to like the older stuff. He curled his fingers into a fist and raised it to the others, a challenge to their insult.

"Dude…Get your ASS off the road!" the one behind the wheel said, slamming on the horn.

"Yeah ugly-fucker. Off the road," the fourth shouted, raising only a middle finger at him. He didn't have to know ooman to get the drift. Rh'vage flicked his claws out expertly and the guy stopped pushing the horn. Finally. Some respe-The car tore off backwards away from him with the guys screaming loudly. Rh'vage hit his wrist gauntlet again, activating the camouflage. Almost like he hadn't been there.

"_Stupid Ooman_," he muttered in his native tongue.

** / ** / ** / ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / **

I was worried about the little Ooman. She kept passing out, and I was fairly certain she might actually go into shock. That would not be good for her. At all. The first time she'd done this, I'd been outside trying to close up my wound. Crude considering I didn't have anything but Earth tools. I had the stove…which provided heat…and a nice long metal knife. So, I'd officially closed up my thigh wound. Go me. The second time she'd fainted…I'd been explaining my story to her. I didn't really blame her. She'd been raised under the pretense that they were the only intelligent life. Ignorance was bliss in some cases. Not with Xenomorphs running rampant. I rubbed at my chest again. The ache was still there, but only barely. Not enough to really worry me. My throat still hurt for some reason as well. I couldn't really figure that one out. Maybe it had something to do with the atmosphere. I'd be sure to figure it out when I got back in touch with Rh'vage. I glanced down at the slumbering form of the Ooman on the couch. I couldn't really SEE her. Yes, her heat signatures. That was the closest I got to seeing. I brushed a single lone claw through her hair. Different then ours. I glanced up as the door opened and quickly activated my camouflage. It was a male ooman. Completely intoxicated.

"Eliz-beth?" he called out drunkenly, staggering into the house. Searching for someone. Eliz-beth? Perhaps he meant Elizabeth. Hm. Elizabeth. I glanced down at the ooman on the couch. Not a bad name. Had a nice ring to it. The male ooman flicked out a knife. "Oh~ Lizzy…Daddy wants to play with you…" he stumbled towards the couch. That knife meant to do damage. I wouldn't allow for that. I uncloaked myself and the guy stopped, staring at me. In his state of mind, he probably wouldn't react with fear…he definitely wouldn't remember me. "Oh…What's this…You wanna play with little Lizzy too?" He sneered, waving the knife in the air over his…daughter? I suppose this Ooman must be the caretaker to the younger one. I did not approve of this behavior, but in his state he was hardly considered challenging. What was he inferring by 'play'? "Daddy gets his turn first…" I backed up, not wanting to really mess with human interactions. He leaned over Elizabeth who remained blissfully unaware. The man seemed to contemplate doing something. Then glanced over at me, I was really playing on Luck this time. "psh…Daddy don't want none tonight….Daddy go sleep now…" The drunk mumbled, walking off and passing out on the ground. I was content to leave him there. I went back to studying the sleeping form of the young Ooman before me. We weren't suppose to interact with them, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to know more about them. Experience them.

"Eh-leez-ah-befh," I garbled out. That didn't sound very good. I hadn't spoken a lot of Ooman names before. I'd spoken their language a little before. Names were…peculiar. At least I had a grasp of it, whereas Rh'vage refused to learn it. "Eliz-a-beth…Elizabeth…" I kept sounding it out until it felt smoother. Yeah. Got it. The small female rolled over onto the couch, snuggling more comfortably. Knowing Ooman brains, both would concur to having a strange dream. I left the household. I had a brother to find and Xenomorphs to slay.

** / ** / ** / ** / ((Scene Change)) ** / ** / ** / ** /

"Are you SURE it wasn't there?" Terra asked me again quietly. Something about her look had me second guessing myself. I sighed, letting my feet brush the ground from where I sat perched on the swing set. This wasn't right. I still couldn't find my purse. Someone had it. I'd also had the WEIRDEST dream last night. There was this thing…guy…something in my house…talking to me. Yeah. My dreams were pretty weird sometimes. That's the last time I watch the Omen with Terra. I yawned loudly. "Ow…That looks like it hurt…" A finger poked at my shoulder where a bruise had formed. Strange things about bruises. They had a tendency to just appear. No one knew or ever remembered what they'd bumped to get it.

"Well…It didn't tell you poked it," I snapped at her and she smiled innocently. "I don't think I'm getting that purse back…" I sighed, thinking of all the trouble I'd had to go through. Amazingly my debit card hadn't been in there. I'd gotten a replacement license though. Considering my dad was still passed out drunk at home. Judging from his state, I was amazed he hadn't tried anything with me.

"Well~ We can always go shopping for another one…" She said tapping my foot with hers. I glanced over at her and she wiggled her eyebrows almost provocatively. I felt my face heating up. "Unless you have…better plans?" Her fingers that were intertwined with the chain of my swing slid slowly down it to my own hand, where her nails lightly tapped my fingers. I stood up quickly and didn't miss the triumph smile that crossed her face. Yeah, we'd spoke about going that way before but I always felt like I was waiting for the right guy. Some one like…John. I quickly shook the thought out of my head. He was with Victoria. The ungrateful bitch.

"Yeah…We'll go," I muttered and headed for my truck. Score one for Terra. I climbed in and spotted something odd out my mirror. The glow stick stuff was still in the back of my truck. Oh. I hadn't cleaned it out. I reflected on my dream, feeling a little crept out.

"Hey~" Terra called out, pointing at my truck," I think you broke a glow stick back here…" I shrugged and she climbed in. "So…I'll be looking for a new pair of sunglasses…Cuz…I'm cool like that…" I rolled my eyes, shifting gears in the truck as we drove off. "Do you think I should try aviators or go with those new models from the Jameson lineage?"

- / - / - / - / ((Scene Change) - / - / - / - / -

The basement level to the two story mall was anything but comforting. It was cold, damp and sinister. It was dark and depressing. It was not where Jacob White wanted to be. As a repairman he was expected to go down there. One of the ladies had complained that she'd seen creatures down here when she'd gone to restock. Yeah right. Restock what? No one ever shopped here. The mall was a curse. A way to flaunt money. A way for Mayor Springfield to entertain his daughter. That was one manipulative girl. Anything she wanted, she had. He sighed, splashing through a puddle of water as he looked around with his flashlight. Nothing out of the ordi-His last thoughts as something slammed into him and dragged him off to be swallowed up by darkness. The Aliens had established a base for their queen. Plenty of food would come and go through here. They could also repopulate easily. Then it would be time to spread out further. For now, they contented themselves with the dying corpse of Jacob White. Unfortunate for him that no one would notice his absence. He had no children, no wife and no girlfriend. He had a few drinking buddies but they would hardly remember Jacob White. No one would hear his beautiful singing voice. His dreams of turning into the next American Idol would never be realized. They probably would never have been realized even if the Xenomorph hadn't gotten him when it had. The only comforting thought? He no longer had to put up with Victoria's bitching.

- / - / - / - ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - /

The queen's lips peeled back in slight disgust at the waste around her. Storage boxes. She needed a base of command. A place to set up to replenish and repopulate the world. Her sightless eyes settled on the large cluster of eggs that was steadily growing. Soon. She would control the world. Her children would have a world to call their own. She purred in slight content as one of her children slinked closer to her. Stinger. A fitting name for him. Her lieutenant. Stinger's lips peeled back quivering as he basked in the glory of his almighty queen. Without seeming to speak, he knew what his orders were. There were Yautija on this planet. Disgusting things. His queen had come into contact with one. The one with their other queen. He was to bring the Yautija back alive, or just the little queen. The elder queen had fears that she'd be quite the handful. The young always were. Stinger himself did not understand the complex amass of thoughts from his queen and she mentally cursed herself for confusing him. She concentrated on the simple singular task at hand for him and he was off. She allowed herself a moment of rest and glanced up as T'eska was seen dragging in a human male. Perfect. Another chance for one of her many children to grow. She made a slight gesture and the man was released.

"I believe in god the father almighty. Maker of heaven and earth-" the human male was chanting. She'd heard it all before. In many languages. Each praying to their god or gods. She wasn't particularly fond of human insects. They thrived in chaos, everyone had free independent thought. Not at all like her children. They were meant to follow her commands and only hers. There was NO independent thinking. Such behavior was not permitted, for it lead to chaos.

- / - / - / ((Scene change)) - / - / - / -/

Stinger wasn't happy to say the least. It was raining outside and he HATED to get wet. His tail flicked irritably behind him. Why did his Queen-No, singular thought was not permitted. He must refrain from that. It was not his duty to question his Queen's commands…but she was growing old and feeble…surely she didn't want to risk…no…There it was AGAIN. Thoughts. What was wrong with him? His upper lip peeled back quivering as he hissed angrily. His shoulder was paining him as well. Landing here hadn't gone too well. He blamed his Qu-NO! One must never fault the queen. He bashed his head against a tree. Never. Never. NEVER!

"What the…hell?" a voice asked, interrupting his thoughts. He whirled around quickly, sensing rather than seeing a young potential prey. It smelled of…female? It was definitely female. He could smell smoke as well. Damn little things these…humans? Yeah, humans inhaled occasionally. It would kill them…That's if he didn't kill them first. He didn't have time for this. His second mouth shot out, not an attempt to kill or harm her but to scare her. It worked. She ran away screaming and he slipped into the tree lines, muttering under his breath about stupid humans. Why did HE have to go fetch the new queen? He didn't want a new queen. He wanted to keep the old one. Why? She wasn't really that old…no one could argue against the restraints of time though and he sighed. Flexing his claws as he scaled a large tree to figure things out.

- / - / - / - / - / - / ((Scene change)) - / - / -/ - / - / -

Vis'chus stopped, rubbing at his chest again. Why did it hurt so? It felt like something was in him. Struggling to find a way out. This wasn't good. Maybe he'd broken something in the fight with that queen. His thoughts reflected back to the strange spider-like creature with the tail that had been laying near him when he'd awoken…helmet-less. It had been dead. He'd assumed over exposure to the atmospheric levels due to Earth had harmed it. It wasn't the Xenomorphs that Rh'vage was always bragging about. It didn't look native to this planet though. He let out a wet gasp as a sharp pain tore through him. Yes. From his chest cavity. He…he could feel it. Something was struggling to make its way out. No. This couldn't be. He briefly thought back to the few serious 'discussions' he'd had with Rh'vage on Xenomorphs.

-Flashback-

"_Rh'vage…Don't you want to learn how to say a greeting in ooman?" Vis'chus inquired to his older brother. Rh'vage let out a mere grunt of annoyance, trying to sharpen the blade of a claw. Vis'chus let out a patient sigh. "It's real easy…Just say '_H-e-l-l-o_'…" Rh'vage glanced up. Hearing something that definitely wasn't native tongue._

"_How can you be so sure that that is a greeting…Sounds more like the equivalent of Fuck off," Rh'vage snapped. He didn't mean to be so hasty with his brother. But his ass had been literally handed to him in a training session with a very respected elder Hunter. He sighed, setting aside his claws and patted the spot beside him. Vis'chus sat down without another word. "_Hegh-lof" _Vis'chus let out a light chuckle and got smacked in the shoulder for it. _

"_No honest…Great start…Just…Concentrate…_"Heh…low_'," Vis'chus said, glad that they were actually bonding and not fighting like usual. He knew his older brother had been struck down, but with good reasoning. Rh'vage sometimes got…a bit cocky. _

"Heh…low…hel-lo…hello,"_ Rh'vage said, thinking about how it felt. It felt wrong. Not something they should be doing. It made him uncomfortable. He vowed to never again attempt such a horrible thing. "Fine…Now it is your turn." Vis'chus looked up alarmed. "No, we will not spar again…I mean…you need to learn of the Xenomorphs brother…" Rh'vage inclined his head, something he did when it deep thought," The Xenomorphs…are a feared species…They are sly and cunning…even the toughest of Hunters fall prey to them…" He glanced at his younger brother for confirmation that he understood. Vis'chus had wide eyes. "Now…Xenomorphs run in hives…" Vis'chus felt his eyes start to glaze over. He hated speeches like this. They weren't interesting to him, but he knew he should pay attention. He had a thirst for knowledge, but the kind acquired by seeking out on his own the knowledge, not by learning of it second hand. "-huggers, then transition to a most painful creature which bursts from the chest as it grows." _

_-_End Flashback-

Oh sweet irony, Vis'chus reflected back. He really should have paid attention. The spider-creature had been…what was it…face-hugger? The first larvae stage of an Xenomorph. The pain in his chest. It all made sense. He was the host to an Xenomorph. He was…definitely experiencing things now. Curse him and his thirst for knowledge. Now he'd been dealt a deadly card and was uncertain how to best handle it. No one had survived a chest-burster…not that he knew off. Of course. None of them had been prepared for it. He wasn't prepared for it either. He didn't want to die. No. He wanted to live, to experience all that universe had to offer. And what was it offering? A very painful death. Fear coursed through his veins. He had to find Rh'vage. His brother would know what to do. Had to know what to do.

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** RubyDracoGirl: Thank you for your enthusiasm. You are too kind. Much too kind to me. Nah. It's just a strange idea of mine. Not nearly as great as some of your stories…**

[And thanks to all who read this. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Review ya'll.]


	3. Uneasy Alliance

[I don't own Aliens/Predators…else I'd be rich…and I wouldn't be HERE giving you this. Here's the third chapter. And beforehand, I apologize if I somehow 'stole' someone else's ideas. I'm not aware of stealing anyone's things and I'm taking great liberties with the Predators and Aliens so some of my stuff might be false like really really wrong but It's a fan fiction right? We're allowed to manipulate the universe…Read and Review.]

Chapter Three 'Uneasy Alliance'

"Why does it have to rain?" Terra whined from the passenger seat as I looked for a parking space. Okay. I really didn't have to 'look' for one. There had to be what? 20 so cars here? Big freaking mall. Small town. Not too many people. I spotted a woman running towards her car screaming. Weird, I frowned slightly and dropped Terra off at the exit.

"Go on in and look for shades…I'll be back," I told her, meaning I was going to go park the vehicle. The frantic woman didn't seem to be able to get into her car and I parked beside her. "Hey…Do you need help?"

"ITS COMING! ITS COMING!" She screeched, grabbing hold of my shirt. She shook me violently and my head banged into my own truck. She let go, pretty much forgetting about an attempt to get into her car and ran screaming.

"And…that my friends…is why drugs…and bad for you," I muttered, getting up and wincing. Something yellow slid past my leg and I leapt up onto my truck pretty fast. What the hell was that? Some big ass spider-scorpion thing? I spotted its tail sliding underneath my truck. Oh lord. I did NOT need this right now. I grabbed a wrench that I carried in the back of the truck, wielding it like a bat. The thing leapt up through the air and missed me as it impacted with the wrench I'd somehow had held up before me. It fell off and onto the ground. I took off out of my truck and into the mall. Screw that. I'd deal with it when it was time to leave. And who knows? Maybe it'd be gone by the time I got back. Right? I suppressed a small shudder as I entered the mall, just a bit damp. We were in the food part of the mall. The front had the food. I spotted Victoria and…my heart gave a jolt…John. They were sitting at a table with a few other friends of theirs, drinking shakes and talking. John spotted me, smiled casually and gave a wave. I held up a hand in return but ignored him as I headed for the escalator. I knew Terra would've gone this way. I gazed down at what I was wearing. Red tank-top that showed off my bare white arms, and another black skirt but with black leggings. Same boots that came up to my mid-shin. I had on a small black jacket that was cut at the forearms and only came to my bellybutton. It too showed off my arms.

"Hey! Check these out!" Terra called out to me from inside a store. There weren't any clerks around. Figures. She was modeling a peach pair of aviators for me. I made a face at her. They didn't go well with her dark hair. She had on a blue t-shirt and jacket as well. Her jeans were scruffy and her shoes had some mud caked to them. Go figure.

"I don't think those are really…you," I informed her and she plucked off a darker shade, handing them to me. I obliged and put them on, studying myself critically in the mirror. She moved on towards the door, going through bracelets. My black hair was cut in wavy bits just above my shoulders. I had a streak of violet hair off to the right. Icy blue eyes also catching details. That's how I noticed the gray tail sliding past me in the background. I turned around, sliding the shades off my face as I frowned. Terra was chatting about something, but I wasn't listening. I slowly made my way towards where the tail had vanished. There was a gaping hole where the vents to the mall where. I'm pretty sure I could fit in there are still have room. I kneeled beside it, and Terra came over.

"What's up?" she asked, eyes narrowing at the sight of the open vent.

"I don't know…" I replied truthfully.

"Maybe they are working on the air conditioning?" Terra asked hopefully. I pursed my black coated lips in thought. She could be right. I sighed and stood up.

"Whatever…Isn't our problem," I muttered and noticed it was pretty hot in here. There was no air current. Just then the power went off, but not before I heard loud ominous clicks echo throughout the mall. A few people screamed as the power went off. "…Now it's our problem…" I hurried out of the store with Terra right behind me. We headed for the front of the mall where everyone was gathering. We had a good 20-30 people gathered here. Small amount considering the size of this mall. The escalators weren't working unfortunately and were now stairs.

"Powers out…and back-up generators aren't engaging," a man was telling another. They looked like mechanics. "Where the hells Jacob?" He pushed a few buttons on his walkie-talkie. "Hey Jacob…Come in…This is Rico…" Rico looked Hispanic, and was sweating just a bit. I gave him a concerned look. "Peter…I don't like this…" The other guy was frowning. He was a bit pudgy and had light brown hair.

"Okay…okay…No one panic," Peter told us. Victoria looked pissed, arms crossed over her designer clothes. John gave me a weird smile that didn't go unnoticed. Okay. He was weirding me out now. "The power's out…and unfortunately we'll be stranded in here…until it comes back on…I suggest you all…sit down and wait it out…Okay?…Um…Come on Rico…" He left with the other man, obviously to 'fix' this problem.

"Just great," Victoria snapped," perfect way to waste my evening…Wait until daddy hears about this." She stormed off to go sit with her group of friends who all were trying to call on their cells. I glanced at my phone. No signal. Weird. I glanced at Terra, who shrugged.

"Let's go finish our shopping?" She suggested. I followed her, John followed us without Victoria noticing. He caught my hand as we entered a hat shop. Terra seemed to disappear and I found I was alone with him.

"Hey," he said with that charming smile.

"Uh…hi," I said, trying to reclaim my arm. He pulled my closer to him.

"You…smell pretty," he told me, inhaling. Yes. I did use strawberry shampoo. Then his lips were on mine. Wet and…kind of disgusting. I shoved him off. He chuckled.

"What the hell?" I demanded, loudly.

"Thought you wanted this…" he murmured, picking me up and putting me on the counter. His hand grasped my left breast hard. "You're…very pretty…you know…and we can do it right here…our little secret…No one would know…" He was trying to get his hands under my shirt.

"STOP IT PERVERT!" I screeched and slapped him. Hard. He blinked and looked back at me, a little angry and backhanded me. I was stunned.

"Bitch…I know you like me," he told me in an angry hiss as he undid his pants. He jerked me down to the ground. "Now suck it you little slut." All thoughts of longing for John were gone. Purged.

"Make Victoria," I snapped at him.

"Pft…Victoria's got this stupid idea about no sex until marriage. What kind of person does that?" he demanded and I suddenly had a new respect for Victoria. "Now…suck it." I punched him hard in that area and he fell down, clutching himself. "BITCH! YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He screamed and I ran. I spotted Terra two stores away. How the hell did she do that? I hurried over to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked innocently.

"Fucking John tried to force himself on me!" I snapped at her. Her eyes widened as she spotted John exiting the store. He spotted us and there was a dangerous look in his eyes as he stalked towards us. He pulled out his hunting knife. Have I ever mentioned that those things can be pretty big?

"Imma fucking skin you Bitch!" he snapped at me. Terra cowered behind me. It was a wonder no one could hear us…but they were all at the front of the mall…we were about halfway through it. I backed up quickly, pushing Terra back with me.

"John. Chill man," I called out to him.

"I'm going to make you wish you never done that," he snapped at me. "I get EVERY girl I want…WHENEVER I WANT!" We'd run out of backing up space. John was just before me. Murder in his eyes. That knife looked dangerous. Just as suddenly he stopped, his eyes bulged slightly and he dropped the knife, hands going to his throat. Then he was jerked upwards with a 'zhwip~' sound. We could only stare. Then something very big landed in front of us, it made the floor shake slightly. Whatever it was we couldn't see…until it flickered into view. The thing from my dream. Only this one was different. More high-tech. It also had my purse.

"MY PURSE!" I screeched and it pointed at me, shutting me up effectively before holding out the purse to me. I accepted it slowly. Then went through it to make sure everything was there. It was. YES! "Thank-" I looked up to see it was gone. "Where'd it go?"

"…." Terra was silent, staring at a point that didn't exist. I waved my hand in front of her face.

"Yo?" I said," Earth to Terra?"

"…Oh my gosh…DID YOU SEE THOSE ABS?" She squealed, jumping up and down like a love struck puppy. She was go-go eyes over…whatever it'd been. I paused.

"Hey…we've seen that one before," I told her, blinking. "At the park…It took my purse…It was the freakishly tall thing at the park…"

"Oh~…I know…bet he's one of them top secret government guys," she said all knowingly. Something about her youthful face begged that she was anything but innocent. "Do you think he'd let me pay to touch those rock hard things…?" She let out a small sigh and followed me as I walked forward. Terra went to pick up the knife and three circles of red light let up her hand. "Oh…pretty lights…" I yanked her back, and the dots vanished.

"That weapons a BAD idea," I told her and looked up. She did and screamed. What was left of John was hanging. He had been skinned. I resisted the urge to throw up. Terra did throw up.

"oh my…oh my…" she said gagging. I patted her shoulder.

"Still wanna touch his abs?" I questioned and she shook her head no, clinging to my arm as I wandered back towards the front of the mall. This wasn't good. What the hell was going on? "Okay…obviously somethings going on here…First the freaky scorpion thing…" I muttered as we walked. I heard a muffled groan from one of the stores and pulled Terra into it after me. A cashier clerk laid on the ground, moaning and clutching her chest. "Oh my…Uh…need help?" I spotted the carcass of a dead yellow scorpion thing beside her and kicked it away. This did not bode well at all. "Terra…take her other side…" I helped her up and we supported her between us.

"H-help me…oh god…the pain…the pain," the woman was saying. She must be delirious. I wondered if the scorpion-thing had stung her. She spit up blood and Terra shrieked, letting go of her and backing away from us.

"Ugh…no…I can't handle this," Terra said and screamed as a horrible cracking sound emerged from the woman I was supporting. I literally dropped her and backed away.

"HELP ME!" The woman screamed out and I heard running feet as some of the others trapped her caught up with us. They stopped, seeing her. It's like that odd human fascination. When you see something gross…and you want to look away…but you can't. I put a hand up to my mouth as blood splurted out, getting on everyone close enough.

"Gwah~" something called out from her chest. It looked like a baby…snake-thing? Little quivering lips peeled back as it hissed at us, then with an amazing speed it dashed off from the woman and out of the store, past people's legs who screamed loudly. I blinked, red blood dripping off of me. My eyes went to Terra who had that same wide-eyed stare as me, coated in blood. Then all hell broke loose.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - ((scene change)) - / - / - / -

He hated this place. This place where Ooman came for recreation. It was crawling with Xenomorphs. He was locked inside. Along with them. It wasn't something he wanted done. After killing that stupid ooman boy. Even stringing him up to install fear. No one had even responded correctly. He didn't even care for the ooman females. He'd returned the stupid purse thing to her. She'd…seemed okay. Then they compared him to that of a government worker. Like a spy. What did he LOOK like? He was no average ooman shape and size. He was a considerable good-looking Yautija. He growled under his breath, muttering to himself. His damn scanner wasn't working either. It would show him that Vis'chus was near, then it would fade out. It would show him surrounded by Xenomorphs. Then nothing. One big headache on top of the other. At least his respirator worked. If it didn't…he'd need Vis'chus to fix it. The guy was a mechanic, whereas Rh'vage knew more about physiology. He knew how to kill perfectly. Even ooman. Especially them. He dreamed of the day which he would hunt them. ((John does not count in his book of kills))

"_Damn ooman…Crawling around in your own path of destruction_," he growled out from where he kneeled on the second floor railing, watching the group below him. He smacked the side of his helmet, getting a good visual of them all as they crowded around something. A few seemed shaken up. Some were puking. The ooman he'd given the purse to was standing quietly away from the rest, talking to the other ooman that he'd seen before. The one who wanted to touch him. He suppressed a shudder, imagining the icky feeling of Ooman flesh on his. Ooman were such nasty vile creatures. No wonder they died so easily. They were so fragile to. Just a little push here, or a prod there…and they broke down on themselves. Pitiful. He despised ooman and their very existence. How Vis'chus could tolerate them was a mystery to him. Thoughts of his younger brother filled his heart with sorrow. Then his mask pinged, alerting him to a new presence.

The ooman were unprotected as usual, so he was a bit shocked to find the two he'd come in contact with wondering away from the group. Safety in numbers. Stragglers were usually picked off as easy prey for Xenomorph. He was alarmed, but then they were joined by a third female ooman. The other two turned around and it looked like they were going to fight it out. He couldn't understand a word they were saying, the translation was broken in his helmet but what interested him most…was that the third ooman…was in her fertility cycle. This would make her an easy target for Xenomorphs. He scratched idly at his arm until he realized with alarm that some of his skin was shedding. Well curse his luck. He was going through a molt. As if he didn't have enough problems to worry about. No wonder he'd been so irritable.

- / - / - / - / - / - ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / -

"Should we really be walking off?" Terra asked me. I gave her a look as she clung to my side. She wasn't exactly fit and in shape, me? Not really either but more so than her. I had no real muscle, just stamina and flexibility. I could run for miles, but I couldn't haul dead weight.

"You could always stay with them," I replied seriously," I'm going to look for a way out…A large group will slow me down…besides…half of those people aren't even in their right minds…Did you SEE that thing pop out of her chest? And that spider thing? Sheesh…I thought I had enough problems with the damn alien from the house. Now I'm covered in blood and it's DISGUSTING!" I'd wiped as much as I could off with my jacket but I still felt disgusting.

"W-wait up," a female voice called out. I whirled around to see a scared Victoria hurrying over to us. She didn't seem so confident and cocky as before. She looked a bit frazzled and nervous.

"What do you want?" I demanded icily, in no mood for her bitchyness. She slowed down when she was closer to us. Terra seemed mildly amused.

"Uh…I…I want to stick with you guys," she admitted.

"What?" I demanded, not understanding her motives.

"Well…I uh…" she made a slight gesture with her hands, a nervous motion. I put my hands on my hips.

"Explain. Now," I ordered. She sighed, letting out a breath.

"Look…I know I've been a total bitch to you all through out high school…but…I was jealous of you okay…There I said it…Happy? It's the only reason I was with John to begin with," she admitted, eyes starting to tear up. I guess she'd seen John's body. Hard to miss really. "I…I wanted to hurt you…To ruin your perfect life…"

"…My perfect life?" I demanded coldly, "You think my LIFES PERFECT? YOU ARE THE DAUGHTER OF THE MAYOR! YOU GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT!" She cringed as my wrath unfolded. "WHAT THE HELL DO I HAVE THAT YOU DON'T?"

"…a real life," she mumbled and I stopped. What? "My 'friends' back there…You know how much I pay them to hang out with me?…My dad doesn't even really know I exist…He gives me what I want to keep me occupied and out of his way…I grew up lonely…with no friends…Power can't get you everything…And…Out of everyone here…You look like the one with the plan…The one who'll make it out of this madness alive…and…I want to make it out of here alive as well…"

"…Aww…can I keep it?" Terra asked, interrupting our debate. We both whirled to see what she was staring at. INCHES from her face was…some strange black alien creature. It's top lip peeled back slowly, quivering. It was perched on the rim of the fountain pool, watching us like a cat does prey. Well…I wouldn't be sure about watching. It didn't look like it had eyes. Goo or slime of some sort continued to drip off of it. It reminded me of a cat….sleek…black…with powerful muscles and a tail that flicked back and forth.

"Terra…Is now a good time to tell you that your brain capacity WORRIES ME?" I demanded loudly, not moving a muscle. Terra seemed oblivious of the danger she was in. Why the hell was she NOT freaking out? Oh that's right. She probably figured she was going insane. Things bursting out of people's chests did that to you. "Don't move."

"Oh…my…god," Victoria said and took off running away from us. The creature snarled and bounded around Terra, knocking her down with its tail as it chased after Victoria. Okay.

"What part of DON'T MOVE did she not get?" I demanded, hurrying to Terra.

"OW! She got the move part down," Terra exclaimed, picking herself up with my help. Victoria screamed like a banshee. "Uh…do we need to go save her?"

"As much as I HATE that idea…yeah…" I said and took off after the black cat creature with Terra. "I think we MIGHT need some type of weapon…That thing looks…"

"Alien?" Terra questioned, puffing alongside me. Victoria's tell-tale screams echoed through the mall. A good thing. IF they stopped, she was dead…or hiding. I don't know which I wanted more. My arch-nemesis to die by alien hands…claws…or? I sighed, conflicted within.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - ((Scene change)) - / - / - / - / - / - /

I was following the tracking signal Rh'vage had in his suit. He must've damaged sometime during the crash or else he'd of responded to me. I flipped through several viewing channels as I studied what was called a Mall. A social gathering place for ooman. Unfortunately the breeding ground for Xenomorphs. Something was screwing with my scanners and I couldn't pinpoint the Queen's location. I'd have to set up a detonation close enough to her in order to wipe all of them out. The pain in my chest stopped my thoughts and I clutched at it, almost brought to my knees by it. I would not LET THIS STOP ME.

"tsss," something hissed nearby. It was an Xenomorph. An older one judging by it's build. It perched on a tree limb, tail drooping down as it watched me. I was amazed it hadn't attacked me yet. I raised my arm, claws coming out and doubled over as the pain in my chest intensified. I could swear the Xeno was laughing at me from its perch. It knew what was in me. It must've been waiting…which made this thing in me important. I turned my claws slowly towards myself. To take my life would…would that not be honorable? If it meant the destruction of an important Xenomorph. Surely not. The Xenomorph hissed, leaping down from the tree. Obviously my actions made it nervous.

"_I have what you want_," I told it, uncertain it even understood me. It was favoring one of its legs as it seemed to pace before me. "_You will not have it_." I told it, reading myself to die as I shoved my own claws towards my chest.

**[Explanations**: Okay. So the whole MOLT concept. Sorry if that confuses anyone….It's just an idea that popped into my head…I mean, I REALLY REALLY don't know much about Predator lifestyle and culture…Except for what's on the films…and I figured I had to make this interesting. I watched a few shows where creatures molt/shed/etc when they are ready to mate and breed…XD…Love the look on your faces…Nah, I mean…I had to make it interesting and I've got an idea coming from this…Don't worry my little darlings. You'll find out soon enough my evil master-minded plan…XD…MWAH AH AH HA!]

**REVIEW RESPONSE**

**RubyDracoGirl: Thank you so kindly for continuing to read this story. And its quite alright that you are the only one reviewing. ((For now, I'll cry later)) Nah. And thanks for noticing the names. I was hoping to get that across. I'm not too sure about the whole Predator name concept. The ones I've seen seem like someone just made em up. So I went along with that. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Even with my liberties I'm taking. ((I hope I'm not taking them too far out of concept or context))**


	4. Playing Doctor

[I sadly DO NOT OWN Predator or Aliens…or else I'd have a lot more fun with this…and be PAID…so…Read and Review…and ABOVE ALL ELSE…enjoy]

Chapter Four 'Playing Doctor'

The Xenomorph crashed into me, stopping the downward plunge of my blade. We went rolling down the hill due to his momentum combined with my weight. He hissed, snapping his double jaw at me. We broke several trees on our way down to the parking lot. Then I proceeded to bounce on the pavement, sending us both in separate directions. I landed heavily onto someone's mustang. The Xenomorph? He got the pleasure of breaking someone's jeep. Bet his hurt a lot more than mine. I rolled off the car, broken glass crashing to the ground. I spotted the Xenomorph as it raced towards the mall.

"_Nu-unh…We're still playing_," I called after it, thundering across the parking lot after it. In case there was any confusion, I preferred my claws, blades, shuriken. ETC. Rh'vage liked his guns. I liked getting up close and personal, Rh'vage would pick you off from the sideline. We were different like that. Part of me wondered if the Xenomorph was leading me somewhere as I ducked in after it through the broken door into the mall. A small side entrance. It would've been easily forgotten by the ooman at a time of panic. I camouflaged myself and eased my way through the many boxes and crates, this must've been the storage? Now, how to get to the main body of the mall? My scanners revealed a rough floor plan but then there was that interference again. I couldn't rely on that anymore. I'd have to chart it was I went. I switched it to manual charting. Now it was a blank slate. Mark the door I'd gone through. Set up motion tracker. Bingo. Still in business. The ache in my chest was getting worse though.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / ((Scene Change)) / - / - / - / - / /- / - / - /-

An icon blinked steadily on the star chart before him. A transmission of a crashed cruiser. Supposedly two young blooded Yautija had taken it to the planet Earth chasing after some Xenomorphs. They spread like a plague. What Mh'dur didn't understand was why these two particular Yautija were doing out in this star system. Considering one of them was his own student. The two had been forbidden to travel as of yet. He sighed, scrunching his mandibles in thought as he sat with his helmet resting in his lap. He would get there soon enough. Perhaps not soon enough to prevent casualties. When concerning Xenomorphs there were always casualties. When concerning ooman…there were usually casualties. Put the two together and yes, there would indeed be casualties. He sighed.

"_What are you planning?_" He asked no one in particular as he gazed out upon the stars. The mystery of space. The cosmos of birth and destructions. The two went hand and hand. An alert flashed on his screen, his approach to Earth's atmosphere wasn't going to be a pleasant one. Apparently the ooman were having one of their many storms. He sighed, suiting up and making sure his helmet was in its proper place before donning the plasma cannon to his shoulder. He was a bit irritated to say the least. He was suppose to be enjoying his day of rest. Not hunting down Xenomorphs for improperly prepared Ooman. Now his student needed to be rescued. Not only that, Rh'vage had dragged his brother Vis'chus into this. What nonsense had Rh'vage spread that would have Vis'chus agree to this?

- / - / - / - / - / - / ((Scene change)) - / - / - / - / - / - /

"Come on…We're in a mall…and the ONLY weapon you have is an aluminum bat?" I cursed at no one in particular as I hefted the bat. First store we'd come across with anything worthwhile in it. I couldn't particularly imagine myself beating the snot out of the cat-thing either.

"Thank god for Spencer's and Hot Topic," Terra muttered, catching up with me. She had a whip and my eyebrow rose up as she offered it to me. I switched the bat to her. "Batter's up~" She said with a wiggle of her eyebrows," Man…you're like Catwoman or something with that thing…"

"Let's pray to god it works," I muttered hurrying across the mall. We'd lost sight of Victoria, and I could no longer hear her screams…for all I knew, she was dead. But the kitty-thing was no one's friend.

"AH! DIE EVIL SCORPION! DIE!" Terra screamed and I whirled around to see her smashing the yellow thing with the tail and many legs. She was beating it into the ground. There was a slight sizzling and her bat was melting. She tossed it aside.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered going over to it and kneeling to look at it. Yeah. Sure enough the thing was melting part of the floor. Only a little of it though. "Holy sh-" A hissing growl interrupted my next words as I looked up. Coming slowly down the pillar connecting the second floor to the first floor was one of those cat-creatures. It's lip was peeled back and quivering as it crawled its way down to us. Something seemed to tell me it wasn't the same one as Victoria's friend. I swallowed, slowly getting up and backing away with Terra. The whip was still in my hand and I swallowed hard, fingers trembling. I wasn't even sure I could use this thing. I had experience with it, when I was younger I wanted to be Indiana Jones. Don't ask.

"Uh…Catwoman…Whipping time," Terra murmured, hiding behind me. I flicked the whip out to the creature. A second mouth shut out at the whip, scaring me. It hissed, the light rippling off its shiny black exterior. Its tail flicked slowly from side to side. We were easy prey. This thing was built for killing. What were we built for? Dieing came to mind. Something heavy landed beside the creature as it started crossing the floor. Twin blades appeared out of nowhere, dicing across the creature. Liquid sprayed out, eating through everything it touched. It splattered on my jacket, hissing as it ate through the material. I stripped out of it quickly, managing to get out before it ate completely through it and my arm. I tossed it aside, watching as my favorite jacket disintegrated. The black creature hissed angrily, second jaw snapping out only to be grabbed by something. The other creature became visible. Tall with ripped muscles and abs, he had on some kind of fish netting across his body. OH wait! The thing from my house. I stared wide-eyed and speechless. The black creature struggled, spraying out…acid blood. Yeah. Acid blood. Then it turned tail and ran off. I thought the other guy was going to chase after it but he merely turned to us.

"Are you okay?" He asked us. Terra's mouth opened and closed, resembling a fish. I felt myself trembling slightly. I felt…faint…and tasted something sour in my mouth. I couldn't remember how to breath either. What was it? In and out right? That's easy…in….and out….in and out…in-out-in-out-in-out…Calm down. Slow breaths. "Are you okay?" He repeated again. Seeming annoyed.

"Swe-abhf," Terra mumbled before her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell down. I didn't bother trying to catch her. I had to stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake.

"Are you okay?" he demanded again, more persistent. I nodded slowly, not trusting myself to speak just yet. "Good…Now…I need to-ugh…" He doubled over, grabbing at his chest. Oh. That looked a little too familiar. I started backing away from him. "NO! Please…don't…I need your help…My brother-"

"The other one?" I asked, amazed," Are you human? What the hell was that thing? Are you hurt?" The questions tumbled off my tongue before I could help it.

"The other one…is my brother Rh'vage…I am Vis'chus…we spoke before…" the one named Vis'chus said, seeming to have trouble speaking. "I am not…human…I am Yautija," My eyes widened," The thing you…" He chuckled but it was a pained one," The thing you faced off was an Xenomorph…Bad news…I'm…hurt…The Xenomorph queen got me…I have…one of them in me…"

"Just like the other girl," I muttered and his masked head tilted slightly to the other side.

"You've seen…this process before?" he asked in a strained voice. He was in more pain then he was letting on. I nodded. "Good…then you know what will happen…I…I don't want to die." It seemed so logically. Just like us. Was this thing really not human? A glance at his feet and hands revealed that yeah…he WAS NOT human. I swallowed, feeling like my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen for some reason. Breathing. Must remember how to do that. Just…inhale though your nose…exhale through the mouth. Repeat.

"What uh…what do I do?" I asked, trembling nervously. It seemed like the right thing to say. But, I wasn't a doctor. I didn't have the first clue about a C-section. Shit. A C-section. That's basically what was about to happen right?

"Glad you…are willing to assist…We must…do surgery," he informed me and I felt my face drain of blood. I was getting pretty dizzy. "Uh…ooman…you should probably breath…" I gasped in a deep breath and he chuckled lowly. "Do not worry…I will…walk you through the procedure…." Then he started talking and explaining things to me. Okay. Whoever the hell thought it'd be funny to make me a doctor? I sent a silent prayer to God or whoever was out there that this worked. Shakily I accepted the knife he'd given me. He'd assured me that the gooey gunk in the can would heal him…and that the shot like thing would also help him. I've never been so scared in my life.

Cutting him open, I got to see more of that glowing stuff. I got to see a lot more. The alien thing pushed out through the opening I'd created for it, successfully NOT breaking open the ribs of the Yautija beneath me. Green blood squirted up bathing me in it. I really needed a shower. The creature in him seemed to be testing the air, little mandibles waving about as it let out a strange cooing cry. It skittered across my arms and out over the floor to disappear into one of the stores before I could kill it like Vis'chus had commanded. Fuck. One screw up already, and Terra was unconscious. I tried not to hyperventilate as I opened the small jar with gunk in it. It felt freezing cold to my fingers, like ice, so it burned a little bit. I pressed back the skin of the Yautija as I pretty much dumped the stuff on him and into the hole of his body. I was fascinated as everything seemed to fuse back together. I rubbed a little of it on the bruise on my arm…and poof…gone. Wow. Okay, so I don't recommend putting any type of alien substance on your body, but I was bathed in this guy's blood. I was totally fine. The one thing I WAS NOT sticking in me was the shot injector thing he'd given me. I stabbed it into his stomach like he'd told me to. His body jerked and his arm closed around my throat before I could react. He was going to choke me to deat-then he let go, slowly.

"Did it…work?" he asked me, almost seeming tired. I nodded, then he continued on in something that sounded like a series of garbled clicks and stuff. I smiled tiredly, and looked down at my hands. The gunk was still there, so I tried to scrape off what was left into the jar. "I owe you my life…"

"It was nothing," I replied reflexively. His clawed hands on mine stopped me.

"Ooman. A life is not just 'nothing'…I will see to it that you two get out of here alive," he told me seriously. I nodded, swallowing almost painfully. He stood up, and can I comment on just how tall he was? I felt like a midget to normal people. Introduce SUPERMAN and viola-you have me Elizabeth. "Wake up your slumbering friend…" I walked over to Terra, gently shaking her.

"mmm…are those abs real?" Terra asked after I'd woken her up and explained some things to her. We had been walking through the mall for a bit, my whip attached to my hip. She couldn't stop staring at Vis'chus. He didn't seem to mind either. Apparently he was just as curious about us as we were to him. He couldn't track Victoria down, something was interfering with his helmet's signals. Whatever that meant.

"Yes they are," I muttered quickly. She gave me a shrewd look.

"Well…what'd he feel like?" she asked me and I felt myself growing a bit red in the face. Gah. What the hell?

"I don't know," I replied quickly. Vis'chus was walking just ahead of us but I felt like he could hear us.

"How can you touch something and NOT know what it feels like?" Terra demanded. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Fine fine…It felt…I don't know.." I said with a slight shrug. I was lying. I knew exactly how those abs felt. Rock-hard as if developed by years of practice and exercising. His skin…hadn't been as tough as I'd thought it might've felt. It'd been soft…and almost cool to touch. I'd marveled at the strength they told of.

"Hey Brain-dead," Terra snapped, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Hunh?" I said focusing again. We'd stopped walking and Vis'chus seemed amused as he waited for me to pay attention. I turned a brighter red of embarrassment. Here I was. Strolling through a mall thinking about some alien's abs. Gah. "Uh…sorry…What was it?"

"…My brother is nearby…He does not like Ooman," Vis'chus informed us and seemed to be looking around," He…is also molting." That sounded ominous.

"oh~" Terra said, suddenly seeming knowledgeable on the subject. I gave her a look and she shook her head, mouthing 'later'.

"We must kill the Queen…and purge the mall of her hive…none must be allowed to escape…," he gave us a pointed look. I think he did, hard to tell with that mask. My eyes traveled down from his mask to his torso. It was very broad, his shoulders were wide-set as well. Then they slid down to his exposed abs, with the faint scar across them from our 'surgery'. His legs and arms were nicely muscled as well. In comparison to humans that is. I wasn't too sure what Yautija males were suppose to look like. "Will you two STOP staring?" Vis'chus demanded, voice cutting into my thoughts. I blinked and Terra looked down at the ground guiltily. "It is like you've never seen anyone with muscles before!"

"Not this close," Terra snapped back defensively. I felt my face heating up again. She elbowed me in the side.

"Uh…You just…uh…are very masculine," I agreed and glanced at her with a 'WTF' expression.

"It's uh…horomones," Terra replied and I nodded, still with the 'WTF' expression on my face," See, we're young girls and-" Vis'chus cut us off.

"Yes yes…I know enough from Rh'vage about you Ooman and your…bodily functions," he replied and the way he said it had me giggling. Once I started, Terra started and then neither of us could stop. "What…What's funny?" We couldn't stop laughing long enough to explain. My sides hurt from laughing and we had to use each other as support so as not to fall over. "Ugh…Out of all the ooman I get stuck with…it has to be two teenaged females…Sheesh…" He walked off, muttering to himself in English," Dumb ooman…" Then he stopped and turned to give us a look," You two…are…impressed with me?" He asked, and it sounded so innocent and sincere.

"Oh…this is too rich," Terra said gasping for breath," Oh~ To us…you are a prime example of…fine~" The sultry way she said it had my face heating up even more. How could she go about so calmly saying things like that? To an alien none-the-less. "Well…Your…uh…body is…its…humanoid enough…Ripped muscles…Tall height…"

"Ooman like tall with muscles?" Vis'chus asked and let out a slight chuckle," Wait until you see Rh'vage…He more muscle than I…" He chuckled again and then muttered something in a series of clicks. Odd. I could probably produce some of those with my own mouth. Terra elbowed me hard in the ribs.

"Dibs," she told me.

"What?" I asked, startled and looked around quickly. What was she calling dibs on?

"Dibs on the new guy," she told me and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever…he's…That's gross Terra," I informed her, giving her a dark look.

"Oh come on…Not like you haven't been attracted to strange men before," She replied and her lips curled up into a predatory smile. "I know you better than that…" Then she sighed, patting my head," My young friend…You have much to learn about the ways of the heart…"

"I don't CARE what they look like," I argued," It's all about personality…Good sense of humor…Smart…You know…" I gave a slight shrug.

"AH…but they need a body of a warrior," Terra told me disapprovingly," You want to be able to breed respectable looking children…"

"…Terra…" I muttered and face-palmed," What is WITH you?"

"What? I like to think that genetics give me kids with muscles to survive on…Long legs to run…strong arms to climb…You know," Terra told me a little confused. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Okay…Whatever…I'd like my kids to have the BRAIN CAPCITY to survive…Brute strength won't get you everywhere," I informed her and walked past a very confused Vis'chus as I made my way up the stairs. Escalator that was stationary. Terra followed me.

- / - / - / - / - / - ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - / - /-

Rh'vage growled angrily at his scanners. Surely they lied to him. They claimed Vis'chus was here in this very mall with him. But that had to be a defect. He smacked the gauntlet device on his arm, and static filled his screen. He growled angrily, smacking the side of his helmet. The fuzzy blur cleared, showing him several things. One. His brother. Two. And yes, two ooman females with him. Further away, another ooman female. The one in cycle. She was hiding herself from the Xenomorphs that crawled along the mall interior. Then his screen went fuzzy again and the signals vanished. He grumbled under his breath, checking that his cameo was activated. He continued walking, scratching idly at his arms again. His entire body felt like one big itch and he felt way too hot. He was also restless.

Great. Stuck on a planet with nothing but OOMAN and going through a molt. Not that he'd ever actually done anything due to a molt. Even though female Yautija would've loved to have him. He suppressed a mental shudder at the thought of having to flee and lock himself in his room. It didn't help that Vis'chus made fun of him for it. Give the cocky idiot a few more years…then see what HE thought about the molt. He was approaching the first ooman female, the one with the purse. She had some sort of whip attached to her hip. A feeble weapon. Briefly he wondered if she could use it. She was saying something but he couldn't understand a word of his. Damn broken translator. Ah. He'd just have to have Vis'chus fix it, or else translate-no, they would just ditch these two useless ooman. They were most likely going to die anyway. His point was proven as two Xenomorphs crawled towards the Ooman. His brother was on some sort of stairway, complaining under his breath about interference with his equipment. Oh, so maybe his helmet wasn't busted after all. That was a relief.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - / - /

"Oh come on…We'll get out of this alive," I replied back to Terra who was complaining about all this walking and running being the death of her. Vis'chus was doing more odd clicks. Maybe his native language. I held up a hand to stop everyone as I got this odd feeling of danger. You know that feeling you get just before something bad happens. I had it. My hand went to my whip, not that it would do much good against acidic aliens. I stepped free of the escalator and started down the walkway. An Xenomorph hissed, landing a few feet not too far from me. I turned around to see another one crawling towards us. Terra backed down the escalator quickly. A third one dropped down on to the escalator and had the two backing even further down, leaving me stranded with two of the scariest things in my life. I backed away from the escalaor entrance and towards a store opening. The door was locked though. One of the Xenomorphs leapt at me and I dodged, rolled and hauled ass away from them both. They scrambled after me. Being the graceful queen I was, I tripped and slid across the ground, going headfirst over the feeble railing that prevented people from falling in the first place. My foot somehow snagged in the railing and a jarring pain revealed that my left anklet had indeed not been prepared for that. I wind milled, waving my arms like an idiot as blood rushed to my head. A fourth Xenomorph was on the ground level, making its way towards me. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. I was going to die. Either this thing would jump up and bite my head off, or its two buddies would eat me. Then I noticed something sliding down the pillar closest to me. Another yellow-scorpion thing.

"FUCK!" I shouted loudly," FUCK FUCK FUCK!" I glanced up and tried to get my foot untangled, not a good idea-but I was panicking. "HELP ME! HELP! FUCK IT! FUCK YOU!" The yellow thing leapt at me and I shut my eyes, prepared to die. It never came. I opened my eyes to find that the yellow thing was nowhere to be seen. I glanced down to see its two halves withering on the ground as if it'd been cut in half. I glanced up and saw my rescuer. Another Yautija. The one who'd killed John, and given me my purse back. "Help me up! Help me up!" He was reaching for me, then I noticed he hadn't dealt with the two Xenomorphs. "WAIT! GET THEM! GET THEM!" I couldn't tell if he understood. I was pointing and gesturing like an idiot. He turned around and was tackled by one of the Xenomorphs. Both flew over the railing that was suppose to prevent these things and crashed to the ground. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. I glanced up and spotted the second Xenomorph slowly climbing onto the railing. Too bad for it that the railing had gotten too much abuse. The strain of its weight plus mine was too much, the railing pitched, sending the Xenomorph flying off but bringing me closer to the ground as I hung there. Now there were two hungry Xenos pacing the ground and staring up at me. The railing gave out a little more and slid further down. Both of their tails lashed back and forth in anticipation.

"HANG ON LIZ! WE'RE COMING! DON'T GO ANYWHERE!" Terra shouted out to me, not too far away.

"OH HELL NO! WHERE WOULD I FUCKING GO?" I shouted back at her, and the railing gave out. I screamed as I was hurtling towards the hungry Xenomorphs. Something like a spear whizzed past, 'spearing' both of them and flinging them out of my path. Okay. That took care of them eating me. But I was going to bash my head against the ground and die. A fitting way to end my life-I was jostled out of my last thoughts as someone caught me. Someone with really strong, REALLY HOT, I'm talking temperature wise, arms. I was being pressed against a very thickly muscled chest. A distinct odor came from him. I couldn't describe it. It was an almost delicious smell…reminded me of that fresh mix of melted chocolate…with golden caramel…the deep rich scent of earth basking in the sun…A mix of things went through my brain but none of them matched what my nose smelled. I felt giddy and carefree. Not myself. I clung to my savior, head resting against his chest, inhaling deeply his wonderful scent. A thought pierced my hazy mind-Hadn't Vis'chus said something about a 'molt'? It faded as my brain seemed to quite literally melt on itself. I felt like doing nothing else but basking in this new sense…actually…I felt like doing several other things that shocked even me. It must…must be this molting thing.

[Okay children. Let's be mature here. This is a mature series. And this goes along with my 'molting' concept. I'll try explain more in story in the next chapter…but trust me…It's that strong…that powerful….Mwah ha ha…I'm an evil writer…Oh yes, all hail the wonderful Rh'vage…Ooman hater…Not really, he just doesn't see the point in hanging with them…Vis'chus is like that sweet kid that wants everyone to be friends.]

**Review Response up to date ((the sites a bit touchy)):**

**RubyDracoGirl: I laugh every time I read one of your delightful reviews…and o-O…I seriously don't know if Preds molt…but in my story, yes. Yes they do. I appreciate all the help you are providing and REALLY REALLY hope you are enjoying this story…Yeah…I have grammar errors…All the time…*hides* Here's to hoping I can keep entertaining you as much as your stories entertain me.**


	5. House Call

[I do not own Predators/Aliens. All that junk. I own my stuff…Obviously…Read and Review. Oh, let me say what an honor it is to have SEVEN reviews already and I'm only on chapter Five…Whatever did I do to deserve this?]

Chapter Five 'House Call'

"You…looked like you were on ecstasy," Terra informed me quietly from where we sat on the edge of the fountain pond. One of the many in this freakishly huge mall. "It was…creepy…" I rolled my eyes, trying to cool my face by splashing it with the pond water. I wasn't drinking it, just trying to get my face to cool off. "I mean…Vis'chus said it has to do with the molt…I understand that some of our animals 'molt' when they are entering the stages of being ready to mate…For them…It's like…the same….they secrete pheromones for females to smell…and basically get their mojo going…" I tried not to gag at that.

"Ew…Pheromones? You mean…I was attracted to him because he smelled good?" I demanded and Terra nodded," Ew…I mean…makes sense I guess…So…they go through molt…kind of like a dog in heat…and that's when their suppose to 'breed'?" I asked, using fingers in the air for quotation marks.

"That is correct," Vis'chus said from where he stood by his brother. He hadn't been joking about Rh'vage. The guy was taller, and larger. Definitely a sight for such innocent eyes as ours. "I apologize…" He seemed a bit uncomfortable," I was not aware that female ooman would…react the same as female Yautija…" I waved it off.

"It's fine…No harm no foul," I replied and he tilted his head as if curious,"…Just a saying…"

"I see…" He replied and turned to his brother who said something in a series of clicks. Vis'chus seemed to reply, then it seemed like they were arguing.

"Hey," Terra whispered to me, nudging my knee with hers. I glanced at her curiously, and she pointed at them," I think that's their native language…" I rolled my eyes.

"Naw really Sherlock?" I demanded sarcastically.

"…What I meant was…Can't you sound like that too?" She asked and I left off a similar trill to them with an odd click at the end. Silence followed. Opps.

"You speak…Yautija?" Vis'chus inquired politely. I shook my head no. Rh'vage let out a strange snort before walking off to go sit down further away from us. "But…that…sounded like…"

"Sounded like but wasn't," I replied feeling my face heat up.

"Why do you do that?" Vis'chus asked, coming over to me. His clawed fingers tapped my burning cheeks.

"Uh…well…it's a sign of…uh…embarrassment," I replied, avoiding looking at him. He tilted his masked head curiously.

"Elaborate?" he asked politely and I sighed.

"Human reaction…Blood rushes to our faces when we are angered…or embarrassed about something…Like…when adrenaline goes through our veins due to fear…you know…" I said with a shrug. Well, maybe he didn't 'know' after all. He was an alien creature.

"Curious," he replied and glanced to his brother.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / ((SCENE CHANGE)) - / - / - / - / -/ - / -

"_Brother…you look like the elders after they have devoured too much sweet meat," _Vis'chus called out to me jokingly. He had been chatting with the ooman. The one who had mimicked us. Yes. It was crude, but it was still close. Some practice and maybe she'd even understand us. I growled under my breath, scratching at my shoulder. "_You know you shouldn't scratch that_."

"_I know_," I snapped back harshly. He seemed to visible cringe, then I noticed a new scar along his stomach up to his chest area. "_What happened?_"

"_Ah…uh…Nothing_," Vis'chus replied a little too quickly. My eyes narrowed and I stood up menacingly approaching him. Vis'chus moved away from me. I was stopped when a startling cool hand pushed against my lower stomach. The ooman with the purse. I stared down at her, unsure what to do. "_She wants to know what you are doing."_ I growled under my breath and the ooman tilted her head curiously to one side. I could tell she was curious about me, her hand trailed slowly up my abs. "_She thinks you are well fit…"_

"_Get it to stop touching me…Why are they BOTH touching me?_" I snapped with panic as the second ooman joined in. They were talking quietly about something in their foreign language, small ooman fingers trailing across my skin. It felt…good…not as…bad as I'd imagine it to be. They were so frail and fragile creatures. One of them was muttering about something and pulled some kind of tube out of her purse. She opened it and started rubbing something onto me. Both joined in. Vis'chus looked like he was about to die from laughter. The smell wasn't unpleasant…and it felt nice too. Soothing and cool. "_What is this stuff?_"

"_They-_chuckle-_call it lotion…with aloe Vera…to stop the itch and relieve the burn,_" Vis'chus said choking on his own laugh as he clutched his stomach. I grumbled under my breath. The ooman of the purse was speaking to me again. "_She says that you are now even…"_ Vis'chus translated. I felt displeased that she was no longer rubbing against my skin. I no longer itched though so that was good news. But she said we were even. I saved her life…and she repaid me by stopping the Molt's itch and burn. It didn't stop the raw need that coursed through me. Almost unbearable with the soft feel of her flesh against mine. Her ooman companion hadn't felt as good. She was rough with rubbing, as if enjoying pressure against my skin. The thought disturbed me. The ooman of the purse had been gentle, slow…as if memorizing the feeling of my skin against hers…oh the glorious-NO! SHE WAS OOMAN! I shook my head, ridding myself of those thoughts. Damn the Molt for putting me in this mood. I growled something not very respectable and Vis'chus chuckled lightly. The ooman thought I was attractive hunh? Wait until they saw what was under the helmet. Then they wouldn't be pleased.

- / - / - / - / - / - ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - / - /

The queen hissed in anger as her lieutenant crawled back in to her. He was in pain but he had failed her. A simple mission. A simple task. Bring back the youngest queen. She had planned on killing her, so then she herself could live longer and be the queen. Queens did not do well together. She growled angrily. Stinger cowered before her, whimpering and let out an inquiring coo. The queen lashed out, knocking him away from her as she contemplated her next course of action. Two Yautija were lose in her domain. They were not to stay. She hissed again. Stinger still had a use. He was now charged with the termination of the Yautija.

Stinger limped away from his queen, feeling hurt. He hadn't meant to fail her. All he wanted was to impress his queen. To make her happy. But no. He had failed. It was that damn Yautija's fault. If only he'd acted sooner. His tail dragged behind him as he made his way back into the vent. The tight things would not allow for a Yautija to fit himself though here easily, plus they would get lost trying to make their way through it. He sniffed the air, tracking the scent of blood. A fleshing was near. He growled softly, stalking his way towards the source.

- / - / - / - / - / ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / -

"Uh…This way," Terra said, pointing in a direction. I rolled my eyes, bending down to check my ankle with my boot slightly off. She started to walk off and stopped to look at me. "Oh…Are you okay?" she asked as I quickly put my boot back in place.

"Fine," I replied and walked as best as I could in the direction she'd indicated. My ankle protested almost vehemently, and I swallowed back tears.

"No you aren't…I've seen you limp before…I know you're limping," Terra told me. Vis'chus stopped his conversation with his brother to look at me. He had been working on something on the helmet from the outside.

"Translators fixed," he said, closing the small compartment. "….uh…"

"You are hurt," Rh'vage said. The first time we'd heard his 'voice'. It was a bit deep.

"No, I'm okay…Honestly," I said and Terra smacked my ankle. "FUCK! TERRA! WHAT THE HELL?" I snapped at her, bending down to hold my ankle as it throbbed in pain.

"Ooman were not meant to hang willingly upside down by their ankles," Rh'vage told me. Oh. Someone had a sense of humor. I glared at him.

"Oh yeah. Tell that to the Xenos…next time they'll listen," I replied sarcastically. He startled me by scooping me up and tossing me over his non-cannon shoulder.

"You are injured and will only serve to slow us down. Vis'chus had promised to get you out of here alive. I too must help him accomplish his promise," Rh'vage said as he walked off. Terra giggled and followed us. Vis'chus brought up the rear. I figured complaining was going to get me NOWHERE. Terra was giggling, oblivious to her own demise.

"When I get down…you are SO in hell," I snapped at her. She stuck her tongue out at me. "Oh, real mature…" I muttered and went to grumbling under my breath. It actually wasn't that bad up here. He was tall and strong…and muscle-packed. I felt safe, knowing he wouldn't drop me, so I relaxed taking time to memorize his back. He had a few spots on his skin that seemed pretty okay on him. He had some sort of fish-net stuff covering his body as well. I lightly trailed my fingers across it, not even thinking about it really. A growl got my attention and I was dumped onto my ass on the ground. Terra cracked up. I could feel Rh'vage glaring at me from under his mask. I held up my hands defensively. "Hey, no harm no foul…Right?" I offered him a hand. "Friends?…"

"….kha'bj-te….," he told me. That sounded insulting from him. Then he seemed to rethink and added, "Yeyinde…" He inclined his head to me before walking off.

"What'd he say?" I asked, and glanced to Vis'chus who seemed to be watching him with concern. Really couldn't tell WHAT they were looking at with those masks, but I could guess.

"First off I completely agree with the first statement….The second…That could be considered your new name…," Vis'chus told me, going after his brother. They broke out into some sort of Yautija.

"Aw…how come you get a cool sounding name…Why can't I get a name?" Terra said pouting.

"I…I don't NEED another name from these…these…IDIOTS!" I snapped, getting up off the ground. I'd reached my snapping point. "THAT'S IT! I'M DONE! NO MORE FREAKY ALIEN STUFF! I'M GETTING OUT OF THIS MALL! I'M GETTING AWAY FROM YOU-YOU-YAUTIJA!" I screeched at them, storming off. Minus that. Limp. I limped off with as much dignity as I could muster. Terra seemed hesitant before following me.

"Should we…uh…really be leaving our saviors?" she asked quietly. I gave her a death-glare and she shut up.

- / - / - / - / - / ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - / - /

Earth wasn't quite what Mh'dur remembered it being from the last time he'd visited. He stood quietly outside his ship, clicking a button on his metallic gauntlet that cloaked his ship from view. Then he went back to contemplating the city. It was quiet and he hadn't seen any sign of Xenomorphs. Not even from his tracker. His mandibles clicked in slight irritation as he stalked off through the streets, cloaking himself just in case a stray Ooman came out and saw him. He doubted they would in this weather. It was raining, and he was just a wee bit worried about his cameo staying active. They'd never done well in the amount of moisture Earth provided. His world was much much hotter, and dryer. He suppressed a tired sigh, feeling his bones start to ache. This would be a very long night for him.

- / - / - / - / - ((SCENE CHANGE)) - / - / - / -

"_Now look at what you've done_," Vis'chus said in an exasperated tone of voice. I rolled my eyes.

"_What I've done? I've done nothing_," I snapped at him, adjusting the cannon on my shoulder. "_What ooman do are NONE of my business._" I told him. There was silence, then he shoved me. Hard. I blinked in surprise. Was he challenging me? Surely not. "_I will give you a change to-_" I started to say and the impact of a fist into my helmet knocked me off-balance. I staggered to the side, shaking my head and glaring at him. "_What is the meaning of this?"_ I hissed at him.

"_Admit you like her_," Vis'chus snarled at me. We circled each other, calculating the others next move. His statement threw me off.

"_Admit what? I have nothing to admit,_" I snapped at him. I didn't have time for this. We needed to kill the Xenomorph and stop them from spreading. Not fight like unblooded. I shook my head slowly. "_You've lost it…I have no FEELINGS for an ooman. My behavior is affected merely by my molt…you KNOW that._"

"_So why'd you name her?_" He snapped at me. There was something in his tone of voice. "_Why'd you name Elizabeth?" _

"_I didn't name Eliza-"_I trailed off. So that was the ooman purse holder's name. Yeyinde sounded better than that. I gave Vis'chus a shrewd look. Was he challenging me over a female ooman? "_I have no interest in your PET_." I snarled at him. He bellowed angrily and charged at me, catching me a little off-guard. I grabbed him as his head smashed into my lower stomach and flipped us down onto the ground, reasserting myself atop him. I had him in a hold, his arm twisted behind him with my weight atop him. "_You have allowed yourself to be filled with compassion for these…ooman…We HUNT them brother…never forget that…we form NO attachments…I don't know why you even bothered trying to save her-"_

"_THEN WHY DID YOU?" _he demanded from beneath me. He was right. Why HAD I saved the ooman girl? I'd already assured myself that she was going to die…Why had I protected her? Because she'd been with my brother? Because the molt was making me feel funny…because she…was a female…yeah…that's why. The Molt was doing weird things to my body chemistry. I was just hyper-sensitive to female presences. That's why us separating was such a great idea.

"…_I don't know…but I DO know that we are better off without them…They are merely distractions we had to overcome…that is what we are doing now,_" I informed him. He tensed as if ready to fight me, then relaxed as my words registered in his brain. He knew our mission. Nothing came between us and the mission.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - ((SCENE CHANGE)) - / - / - / - / - /

"Oh~…I bet you liked them," Terra goaded me as I walked. Limped. My ankle hurt like hell.

"Whatever," I snapped at her, making my way to the front of the store. I figured we could try and locate the two repairmen from earlier. Maybe they knew of a secret door out of here. Then we could call the army and they could nuke the whole damn mall. Terra was still talking but I hadn't been listening.

"Yeyinde…That sounds…pretty," Terra admitted. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah…for a dead thing," I muttered darkly under my breath. I tried to keep a constant look out for the things called Xenomorphs. Also Victoria-"OH shit…Her jacket.." I hurried over to a brown designer jacket with fur and rhinestones. Definitely Victoria's. "VICTORIA?" I shouted out and my voice echoed in the mall. I swallowed hard. Not another dead person. Not another-

"Liz?" A voice called out weak and muffled. I hurried into a store with Terra right behind me. She grabbed a hockey club on the way. I still had my whip. Not that either of those would do us any good against acidic-blooded evil cats. I'd never been much of a cat person anyways. I was allergic to them. Something about their fur.

"Victoria?" I called out again. An Xenomorph hissed angrily at me, before ramming it's head into a metal cabinet. It was pretty dinged up. I knew Victoria was in there. "HANG ON!…HEY SLIMY!" I shouted after the creature. It turned to me, hissing once again before ramming into the cabinet. I heard a loud scream from inside. Why the hell were they after her? "I SAID HEY!" I grabbed the hockey club from Terra and chucked it hard at the Xenomorph. It cracked in half. Oh…that got it's attention. Terra ducked behind something and I took off running, ignoring the pain in my ankle as the Xenomorph took off after me. Note one. NEVER PISS OFF AN XENOMORPH UNLESS YOU HAVE A PLAN. I didn't really have a plan. I was improvising as I went along. I slid across the tiled floor, getting no traction. Luckily the Xenomorph had the same luck, bad news? He slid the same direction as me. I scrambled up, now in a shoe store. I shoved a shelf over and it slammed hard into the Xenomorph but DID not slow it down. I raced along, hoping to lose it. Somehow I did. It was really dark in here. I slowed down, inching my way along the store. Then I saw Terra at the entrance.

"Liz?" She called out, looking scared. She didn't see the Xenomorph on the top of the shelf making its way towards its newest victim. Hell no. I unhooked the whip.

"Hey KITTY!" I shouted out, flicking the whip. It missed. "Practice shot….Practice shot…" Terra seemed to notice the trouble she was in as she backed away very slowly from the store entrance, keeping the things attention on her. I flicked the whip out again. SUCCESS! I had it's leg, I gave a strong jerk, tugging the thing backwards. It growled and whirled around, pulling hard at the whip on its leg. I was jerked forward. It snarled at me, coming towards me. I flexed the whip and it came undone. I flicked it again at the creature, building up some speed. It must've hurt because I heard the loud crack it made when it hit. The Xenomorph growled angrily at me and charged. I whipped again, just time drawing acidic blood from its head. It skidded to a halt growling angrily at me. I flicked the whip again, amazingly none of the blood had gotten on it yet. It cracked close to its face and the creature seemed to reconsider before turning and leaving us. I let out a sigh of relief. Then went to find Terra. She'd disappeared some time during the whip-fight. "Terra?" Victoria emerged from a different store, looking shaken.

"The-the the other one…it-it…Terra was dragged away," Victoria told me. Her eyes were red from crying. I felt like some one had shoved a cold piece of ice through my chest. My very heart. An empty feeling of coldness invaded me. Terra. My best and only friend was gone. Taken from me…by these creatures…and all I got as consolation was the Queen Bitch herself Victoria? "I'm so sorr-" She didn't get to finish as I backhanded her. The slap echoed through the seemingly quiet mall. Victoria didn't say anything. Which was smart.

"I'll fucking kill you…" I told her, eyes narrowing," If we hadn't gone to fucking save your sorry ass…If you'd listened to me to begin with…WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS SITUATION!" I shouted at her, pure rage eating through me. Years of having to put up with her shit wouldn't be forgotten just because we had an alien crisis happening. Though…I'd have to set it aside if I expected to get Terra back. "Besides…Why the hell are they so intent on getting to you?"

"Uh…well…" she said, seeming to get embarrassed. I glanced down. Oh hell no.

"You're…oh fuck…you're pmsing? DOES IT HAVE TO BE NOW?" I demanded, face palming," Okay okay okay okay…It's NOT a zombie invasion…though…I could handle that one better…okay okay okay…No problem…alien creature stole your best friend…currently traveling with a chick whose pms just chose now to be active…no problem…just a tiny set-back…right? Right…" I was talking to myself and pacing. Trying to remain calm. Where the hell was I suppose to even go? These things needed humans to breed right? They had a queen…so they were like a beehive. I glanced at Victoria who was silently crying. "Pull yourself together for God's sake…shit…Okay…That thing after you is an Xenomorph…like a drone…They all work under one Queen…currently they are trying to expand their numbers…That means they need human hosts…hostages…" That also meant Terra was alive for now…until one of those face huggers got to her first. Not if I could stop it. "Now…We need to rescue Terra-" Victoria started to say something and I cut her off, she was pointing behind me. "That involves getting us to the queen…WOULD YOU STOP!" I snapped at her. "What the hell has you so occupied?" I turned around to see Rh'vage and Vis'chus listening to me talk. They must've uncloaked and that's what Victoria was trying to point out. "Oh yeah…These are the Yautija…They're the good guys…for now…They actually hunt us but-" Victoria's eyes rolled up into her head and she passed out, hitting the ground pretty hard. "Oh fuck this…." I growled under my breath, face-palming.

"We will assist you in the rescuing of your friend," Rh'vage told me and indicated for Vis'chus to grab Victoria. Oh, she was in for a rude awakening. He draped her over his shoulder. Both were cannon-less. "Let's go…" I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. I put my hands on my hips.

"I'm fine without you," I told him and he turned back around to look at me. He slowly reached up to undo one of the dreadlocks from his mask. Then slowly removed it, giving me the first real look of what was hidden underneath that thing.

[Okay. So I got this site from RubyDracoGirl with Predator language…but I don't think I'll actually use it because it'll confuse me…Lol…But I might throw in a word or two…plus the 'naming' thing…The first word isn't all the much an insult….It's loosely crazy/reckless…depending…The second one…The NAME kind of means 'brave one'…LOL]

**REVIEW RESPONSE: **

**RubyDracoGirl: Thank you Thank you Thank you! Lol. Glad to see you enjoyed it. Your review was a little confusing but I think I got your drift? I'm hoping I can keep the humor going ((without overdoing it, I still am trying for a 'serious' approach amidst the humor)). Now, did you have to re-read it because you didn't really get it the first time or because you just wanted to re-read it? A SIDE NOTE: THANK YOU RUBYDRACOGIRL FOR ALL YOUR HELP!**

**backwaterplanet: Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoy the rest of it?**

**Megan: Er…thanks for your enthusiasm? Here's to hoping you read more. ((Hope they are sexy enough for you…lol))**

**Khalthar: Thank you for stumbling upon my crazy story. I do try for original. LOL. Makes things so much more entertaining. Here's to hoping I can keep your interest. I'm open to any suggestions you'd like to voice.**


	6. Teamwork

[I do not own Predators/Aliens. And I'm back. I hope this is good enough to make up for my disappearance if anyone's even actually reading this.]

Chapter Six 'Teamwork'

I watched the ooman, Yeyinde, as I slowly removed my helmet for her to see me better. As soon as my face was bare, I roared almost angrily at her and she visibly flinched. Then, her eyes seemed to travel over my face, lingering on my mandibles that I flared at her threateningly. She wasn't nearly as shocked as I'd expected her to be.

"Well…that's…cool…different…but cool," she murmured, stepping closer to me. I wasn't sure what she was going to do. She raised one of her tiny hands to gently poke at my face, one of her fingers sliding slowly over my mandible, almost as if afraid she'd hurt me. I could've laughed. Her? Hurt me? Psh. As if. I flexed my mandible, scaring her and she jerked her hand back. My mandible tingled where her finger had been. "Well…You certainly aren't attractive in the facial department…" She tilted her head curiously to the side.

- / - / - / - / - / ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - / -

"wow…" I murmured again under my breath, studying the tall creature before me. He was angry with me. I don't really know why though. Had I said something wrong? He had four…appendages around his mouth that wiggled and moved. Hmm. Curious. His eyes were a nice golden hue that glinted brightly in the light. Was he capable of sight like us? He had eyes like us…but…Something about the impassive way he examined me begged to differ. "Hey…Vis'chus…Without his mask…Can he understand me?"

"No…" Vis'chus said with his head slightly tilted to the side. "Why?"

"Because what I'm about to say is fully confidential-" I started and was interrupted by a loud crash as things were knocked over and spilled out of a nearby fish store. Fish marbles rolled out everywhere. Rh'vage whirled toward it, red cannon light flashing warningly. A guy exited, hands raised, one of which held some type of crossbow. He had a batch of arrows strapped to his back.

"Oi…Sorry mate," the guy said casually. He had on a black cowboy hat and brown hair that was cut short. I could just barely see it peeking out. He had on cowboy boots, jeans and a black t-shirt. His denim jacket was unbuttoned. "…What the…?" He trailed off, hazel eyes assessing the two Yautja with me. Poor Victoria over ones shoulder. Awkward. His crossbow came back up. It was loaded. "Alright…Someone start bloody explaining stuff or you'll look like a porcupine in July when I'm done with ya'll…." Something about him seemed familiar.

"Daniel?" I called out tentatively, stepping towards him. "Daniel Marsh? Is that you?"

"Elizabeth?" He asked equally confused and lowered the crossbow. I hurried forward to hug him.

"Oh my god…What brings you to town? It's been so long!" I exclaimed, squeezing him reassuringly. Rh'vage put his mask back on, obviously wanting to understand what was happening. Luckily he wasn't the 'shoot first, ask questions later' type or…he hadn't heard Daniel's threat. Vis'chus, I knew wouldn't shoot anyone. He'd maybe claw them to death but wouldn't shoot. Lucky me, or really lucky Daniel.

"Well…I was actually thinking about…visiting you," he told me seriously, one hand on my shoulder. It didn't go unnoticed. I gently shrugged his hand off. Daniel had graduated two years prior. A real country boy. "I missed you…"

"You could've called," I told him seriously, crossing my arms over my chest," Really. You should've called…" He grinned and glanced at my two Yautja friends. "Now…you've got some explaining to do…" Indeed I did.

- / - / - / - / ((Scene Change)) - / - / - / - / -

He couldn't believe his luck. Coming across Elizabeth in the mall had been fate. He knew they were destined to be together. All he had to do was win over that icy heart of hers. Daniel listened with intent as the shorter teenager explained some things to him. About the Kiande amedha as they were known by Rh'vage. Vis'chus called them Xenomorphs. But it meant hard-meat. Hmph. He couldn't help but study his female companion with great interest. The animated way she talked with her hands, emphasizing her point. She'd cut off her beautiful raven hair. Now it hung in frazzled bits above her shoulder, flaring out a bit to the sides. She had a ridiculous violet stripe of color through it. He himself didn't understand the purpose of it. He reached out to finger it, before realizing it.

"Sorry," he murmured and met her inquisitive blue eyes," It's just…different …You look… different…still good…but different…Why'd you cut your hair off?" She looked away, biting her bottom lip as if nervous.

"Because I felt like it," she replied, and he caught the look of remorse. Sorrow. A dark secret she wasn't sharing. He knew what had happened and gently put a hand to her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze of comfort.

"…Because it was practical?" He asked, eyes getting a cold look. "That way he couldn't grab it to hold you in place?" His hand tightened on her shoulder.

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped, getting up from where she was sitting. He stood up as well. His crossbow clinking on his back. "We've got to get Terra back.."

"Terra's here?" he asked, seeming confused. She gave him a curious look.

"Did you hear a word I said?…or were you too busy studying my hair?" she asked and he caught the amusement in it. Damn. He'd made a fool of himself in front of her. That was no way to win the heart of a lady.

"Now look here, I've already killed two of them beasties," Daniel snapped at her. They started arguing now about ways to get out of here and things to use as weapons.

"_The ooman has found another friend…Now's our chance... let's ditch her!_" Rh'vage told his brother in their native tongue. Vis'chus gave him a puzzled look beneath his mask.

"_Why are you in such a hurry to be rid of her? I think you like her," _Vis'chus replied, just a little put off by his brother's behavior.

"Hey Vis'chus?" Liz called out, waving a hand to get their attention. She planted it back on her hip, the whip dangling from it. "We need to stop in a few stores really quick…you know…to gear up."

"Gear…up?" Vis'chus asked, confusion tinting his voice as he tilted his head curiously to the side.

"Yeah…you know…so we can better fight the Xenos…," She said trailing off.

"_See. Perfect chance to ditch them._" Rh'vage snarled. He turned to look at Vis'chus. "_We must locate the queen and destroy her hive…regardless of the causalities…"_ Vis'chus knew he spoke the truth, but he found the little female to be interesting. Her friend was interesting too. He'd set Victoria down already.

"Watch Victoria," Liz ordered before limping off towards the brightly colored store called 'Icing'. Not Claire's but it had the same purpose. Daniel was quick behind her. They were getting diamond earrings to stick into her whip. Making it a better weapon that she could handle masterfully.

"What'd you do to your leg?" Daniel asked as they left the Yautja behind. They were making odd clicks and stuff.

"Uhm…played tangle with the upper floor railing….apparently it actually has a weight limit," Elizabeth replied and threw him a teasing look so he'd know she was lightening the mood. He was frowning though and she sighed.

"…So…You still remember how to operate roller blades?" He asked her and she gave him a confused look.

"Uh yeah…remember all the races we use to have?" She demanded and he held up a hand.

"Still size 8?" He asked, glancing at her feet.

"No…I'm a 9," She snapped back, irritably as she pushed another earring into the whip. It would definitely hurt. Daniel raced off, and disappeared into a store several stores away. He returned with black rollerblades with purple string and dark green wheels.

"This will help provide support for your ankle," he told her seriously. She gave me a questionable look, tilting her head again curiously to the side. His eyes traveled from those formidable blue eyes to her tiny spot of a nose to the soft curves of her lips. He leaned forward and kissed her. A very subtle growl interrupted him, and he took the time to realize that she'd never kissed back. His eyes flicked to the Alien creature that was climbing down one of the marble pillars towards them. Elizabeth hadn't spotted it, and their huge friends were gone. Victoria was still there, laid limply on the ground and an open target. "….start running…" Liz's eyebrows shot up questioningly. "Trust… me…" She took off without a second question, skates clutched in her hands. The creature leapt after her, bypassing Daniel completely. He whipped his crossbow off of his back, readying a bolt and laying waste to the strange creature that scurried away. The bolt flew and struck the creature with a loud sickening crunching sound. The thing whirled around hissing as green acid oozed down it's leg. "HEY UGLY!" Daniel gave a whistle and the creature's head whipped towards him. So. This baby operated by sound? Couldn't be sound alone. Had to be something else, like scent. He started backing up towards Victoria, maybe he could just grab her and-He didn't get to think it out as another growling sound emitted from behind him. Another Alien creature. He froze, thoughts whirling through his brain. At least he'd kissed her once.

"DUCK!" a male voice rang out, only slightly muffled and Daniel hit the ground flat. Something whizzed past his head before exploding, the heat rushed past him but died away just as quickly. He got up and spotted an Asian looking kid. Wimpy looking, but considering he'd just saved his life.

"…What the hell was that?" Daniel demanded.

"uh…a bomb," the kid said as if Daniel was stupid. He only appeared to be fourteen at most. He was fiddling with his gray hoodie, and had a black scarf covering his mouth.

"….nah shit kid….What KIND?" Daniel demanded. The kid looked uncomfortable.

"There's a…uh…Sears," the kid said and shut his mouth just as quickly. Daniel could tell from the defensive posture that this kid wasn't going to give anything up, then he noticed the aluminum baseball bat.

"Okay…so we should work together and-" Daniel said, turning to get Victoria. Pain exploded in the side of his head and he was out of it, the last thing he remembered was the kid kneeling beside him.

**&^%^&^%^&*&^%^&*&^%^&&^%^&*&^%^&*(*&^%$%^&*(

Running. Running. Running. And more running. That's all I felt like I was doing. I was forced to slow down though as the pain in my ankle intensified, the skates clanked together uselessly in my hands. I sank down into a seated position, my chest heaving with the efforts of my lungs to keep enough oxygen flowing through my blood system. I glanced once more at the skates. Ah, what the hell. I quickly stripped off my shoes, useless anyways and laced up the skates. Daniel had been right about the ankle support, plus now I could move faster. I was glad I had at least taken a skate refresh course not too long ago. Terra's insistence. I stood up and glanced at Victoria's Secret. These Xenomorphs HAD to operate somehow. I skated into it and started shoving perfumes into my bag. Little bombs. Hopefully they'd disorient the ugly cats. A sudden stitch in my side had me sucking in air through gritted teeth. I hadn't run that much in a long time. But, now I would be skating, and I had to rescue Terra before it was too late.

"h-hey WAIT!" A female shouted from not too far away, scaring me. I clutched a perfume bottle, ready to chunk it. She had exotic almond shaped eyes and dark brown hair curled and pinned back. A Victoria's Secret employee. Her name tag said Ashley.

"uh…hello?" I asked back worriedly. She gave me a timid smile.

"D-did you see those gray things?" she asked me, sidling up closer to me. Her skin was darkly tanned, probably years at the tanning salon.

"Yeah…those are Aliens…," I replied looking her over. "Have you been awake all this time?" I demanded and she appeared confused.

"O-of course, I-I hid from those things…t-they ch-chased down…M-marcus…and got him," She replied, trembling slightly. I gave her a sympathetic look. "His…his brains…they…they were…ev-everywhere…" She swallowed painfully and gave me a pleading look. "D-don't leave me here by myself!" She had a wild look in her eyes and grabbed my arm, clinging to it. I was off balanced and knocked over, she landed on top of me. Then she was strangling me. I'm not sure for what though.

"Grfg-ofgh!" I choked out, kneeing her hard. She grunted and I was freed. I scrambled away from her, hopping up onto the skates and skating off. I slid to a halt though as an Alien leapt down to land before me. The woman screamed loudly, and I whirled slightly to see another Alien herding her out of the store. What did they want us for? Alive? Then we'd breed and make new ones. I was so close that I could smell the putrid scent wafting off of their slime coated bodies. That upper lip peeled slowly upwards, quivering as more slime fell to the ground. I backed up and bumped the other woman on the other side of me. She seized my arm and tossed me towards the alien before turning to run…straight at the other one. I tumbled to the ground at it's feet, feeling slime pool onto my hair. Ugh. Gross. I managed to turn slightly to see the woman frozen in fear. Then that mouth slowly opened, revealing the second set of mouth. I was affixed to it like a moth to an open flame. The second mouth shot out with such a speed that I wouldn't have caught it if I had not been aware of what was going to happen. The human head has no chance when faced against that speed and strength. The soft flesh was pierced then came the skull, which gave no resistance, giving much like a paper with scissors. Then came the soft matter that makes up the brain, a gooey mix of jello just sitting in our heads filling up space almost. Then it burst free through the opposite side of the cranium. Blood and bits of brain splattered out over me and I whipped my head away so as not to get any on me. The other Alien hissed, leaping over me to join it's sibling in desecrating her remains. She didn't stand any chance. The whole piercing the brain thing took the icing on the cake. I hopped up onto my skates and wheeled off quickly, not bothering to test the theory on perfume bombs.

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"_I still don't understand why we HAD to leave the ooman behind,_" Vis'chus grumbled as he followed Rh'vage through the mall. They were still seeking out a possible hive location.

"_Damn oomans….THEY can't POSSIBLY have use for all this space_," Rh'vage snarled, gesturing into another store off to his side. Vis'chus tilted his head curiously to the side, watching his older brother scratch as his arm. The little ooman's healing cream had worn off…the 'lotion'. He sighed and grumbled something that he knew his brother couldn't overhear. "_Damn it…The Queen is too smart this time…" _

"_Maybe it's not the Queen whose gotten smart_," Vis'chus spoke up. Rh'vage whirled around to face him.

"_Are you suggesting that I am NOT a hunter?_" Rh'vage demanded angrily. Vis'chus started to reply when the shattering of glass caught their attention. Something had crashed in from the ceiling. It dropped heavily to the ground below. "_…oh…shit…"_

"_It's Mh'dur,"_ Vis'chus whispered as they peered down over the railing. Their mentor hadn't noticed them…yet. "_Think he's…pissed?"_ The other Yautja's head whipped around to look up at them and a bellow of rage filled the air. "_Yeah…he's mad…Should we uh-?_" He turned and noticed Rh'vage was already running away. "_DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME BEHIND!"_ He took off after his brother even as their mentor swiftly followed them from below. "_Why'd they send him?_"

"_Who ELSE is better at punishing us?_" Rh'vage demanded, not breaking stride as Vis'chus fell into step with him. "_He IS our mentor…and he's pissed….we DID steal his ship…"_

"_I THOUGHT YOU BORROWED IT!_" Vis'chus shouted at him.

"_Might've been a little…uh…sketchy on the details," _Rh'vage admitted dismissively.

"_AND you crashed it!_" Vis'chus snapped, tripping Rh'vage. Rh'vage thudded to the ground heavily, shaking it much like an earthquake. Vis'chus chuckled but ran smack into a very hard chest. He toppled over backwards onto his own ass. "_Oh~….missed that one….Oh…Hey…uh….Mh'dur…How've you been?_" Vis'chus squeaked out, glancing up at their mentor. Whereas they were the usual 6-7 feet. ((Vis'chus was under 7 being about 6'8"…and Rh'vage was 7'4")) Mh'dur himself was oh…8 feet tall, and he was built heavier also had more scars.

"_Not bad…I was actually going to enjoy some free time with my mate…UNTIL I get this call…about TWO delinquents stealing one of my cruisers….,"_ Mh'dur said in a slow voice, using the intimidation tactic he was known best for as he studied his apprentices. He cracked his knuckles and flexed his claws, taking his time. "_Not my apprentices…surely not…They KNOW better than that I say…But no…I was wrong…and I don't LIKE being wrong…"_ He let out a small growl. "_Then I FIND out that I HAVE to clean up another MESS on Earth…You two couldn't have even DONE that? All you had to do…THERE'S two of you…is sync the detonators on your arms…and lay them at opposite ends of this mall…collateral damage would WIPE out everything…That's what you should've done when you first got here…when all the Hard meats were HERE….now…now we have to wipe the mall out…THEN go hunt in that small town for the others…THEN look at a small area to make sure we GOT all of them also….So I'm doing quite alright…I'll be doing better when we're BACK home….AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT KEEPING ONE OF THESE DAMN OOMANS as a pet…we've collected enough…and their lifespan are MUCH too short…." _And with that, he walked off, his small red cape fluttering behind him regally. He appeared different from the two younger Yautja, more assured of himself and more battle experienced. Vis'chus got up, and then offered his hand to Rh'vage.

"_Well…that could've been worse,_" Rh'vage admitted.

"_WORSE? What's worse than being told I can't KEEP the ooman as a pet?_" Vis'chus demanded, clearly upset by this small fact.

"_Uh…I don't know…he could've FORBID us from hunting the hard meat,_" Rh'vage snapped at him, smacking him in the back of the head before walking off to follow Mh'dur. Vis'chus sighed, rubbing the back of his head and considering his options for sneaking an ooman on board. He would get his pet one way or the other.

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Daniel woke up to the world's worst headache, besides the fact that he was tied up and missing his crossbow. He struggled only to find that he couldn't escape. He was stuck to one of those damn marble pillars. He felt someone shifting on the other side, VICTORIA! She let out a slight whimper.

"Hey…You okay?" Daniel called out calmly.

"Yeah…no thanks to you I bet," Victoria grumbled almost bitchily.

"Still the same I see," Daniel muttered.

"What?" Victoria snapped.

"Nothing…anyone see the Asian asshole who tied us up?" Daniel demanded.

"I resent that," the kid called out from where he was sitting by a coke machine. He still had his scarf up over his mouth, and in his lap was Daniel's crossbow.

"What the hell are you doing? We're on the same side?" Daniel demanded. One of the kid's eyebrows rose up.

"Same side? It's ALL about the survival of the fittest…I'm using you as bait…To kill the beasts," the kid said with a nod of his head," Your girlfriend over there…she's doing that girly thing…She'll attract plenty of them…" Daniel rolled his eyes, not bothering to call the kid out on that but it did explain things. He briefly wondered where their Yautja buddies had wandered off too. Then his thoughts turned to Elizabeth, was she still alive? Would she survive without him? Maybe she was with those giant brutes? They looked like they could take care of themselves.

[So. I'm back and the chapter's really short for a girl coming back. I really thought I could do longer…but each chapter kind of has a story line thing…and…I can't give everything away in one chapter. I build enough to tease you with-hopefully, then wham…There you go. Special Thanks to Khalthar for fixing my shit…Awesome person.]


	7. In which the plot thickens

[I do not own AVP. I apologize for the delay and the fact that there aren't any review responses. I had some, but didn't feel I needed them anymore since it's been so long. I think from now on, I will personally respond to each of them by clicking on reply. So please sign in so I can do that. Thanks to everyone whose still with this story. I've been busy with life…Graduating from high school. Getting my affairs in order for college. Not that anyone really cares, they just want a story. I'm trying to improve. With a little prompting from Khalthar I think I can do that. Thanks again to everyone for putting up with me. I'm doing some reflecting on this story, and planning out the sequel for it-NOT that this one is THAT close to ending…yet…Gah. MY maybe first REAL complete chapter story…I'm excited, but I HOPE to improve GREATLY. And a warning…This is prolly gonna become a LOT more mature…and A LOT more weirder…PFT, as if Yautja in a mall aren't weird enough~? And, I decided that this fic is for ME to have fun with. You don't like it…click the red x in the upper right hand corner of the screen.]

[SPECIAL THANKS TO KHALTHAR for assisting me in the making of this chapter. Without him, it'd never of gotten done. Ladies and gents, I present to you. Chapter Seven of "Trapped in Stone Mall". Without further ado, enjoy. Originally it was going to be called Ooman's revenge. But I'll save that for next chapter, in which Khalthar gave me a delicious idea for it.]

Chapter Seven: "In which the plot thickens."

"…Through here," I muttered to myself, brushing my dark bangs out of my eyes. Sweat stung as it dripped down into them, causing my vision to blur up. I wiped at my face, pulling my shirt up to wipe with the hem of it. I stopped when I felt eyes on me. I glanced around, scanning for any hard meats that we'd run into already. None. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. It also reminded me that I was not alone in the mall either. There were other people here but I wasn't too sure where they'd disappeared off to this time. I sighed, stretching and hearing my back crack ominously as it popped. I heaved a sigh, running a hand through my hair and rubbing at a sore spot on my head. My neck hurt too from the store clerk's death grip. I was also covered in Alien slime and human blood, with a dash of splattered brains. Nothing like being covered in the splattered remains of cerebral matter to make a girl's day complete. I dug into my purse, fishing out 'Midnight Madness' and sniffed it. "Ew…" I said, scrunching my nose up. "How do people wear this crap…." I pray to whoever's listening… "Let this work-" I stopped my quiet whispering to myself as a dragging sound caught my attention.

A much larger alien thing was dragging two people with it. It looked to be struggling with its load. Time to help out. One of them was just a kid who looked to be about 12 with bright orange hair and a sundress. The other was a man, somewhere in his thirties with a balding head. Maybe Father and daughter? Snagged by the alien species as they came into the mall most likely. I tensed, wondering what to do, because there was no telling. I should at least try to assist them, but…that one could lead me to the others. Where they'd taken Terra….I glanced again at the little girl, and something pulled inside me. It wouldn't be humane or even human to just let them be taken and eventually killed or eaten, what if Terra wasn't savable and these people were?

I took a deep breath, sweat dripping down my back, already staining my tank top. My leggings were also stuck to my skin, but at least the mini skirt was still manageable. I rolled slowly towards the alien creature, keeping myself in the shadows and being quiet about it. The alien suddenly dropped its prey, hissing into the air. I froze, heart speeding up. What if…its smelling was REALLY, really good? What if its hearing was so good, it could hear my heartbeat. I bet it could. I slide back a bit, lightly bumping the wall, getting a bottle of perfume ready to throw. Then another alien dropped down from the second floor and I relaxed as the two circled each other hissing like cats. I remember it was once said that male spiders would fight over who would bring the female spider the best gifts. What if these guys worked like that? Fighting over the 'best prey' for their Queen. Made sense. But damn. These two were going at it with each other, rolling away to the side; they made it clear that they'd kill each other. While they were doing their little competition thing, I'd have a chance to save those two people.

I skated out quickly to them, dropping down beside the girl to check for a pulse. There was one, and then I checked the guy. Yet another pulse. Great. I shook them, trying to wake them up. They both did, gasping as if from a sudden dream. The man screamed loudly; even worse than the little girl! It only served to attract the attention of the two aliens…who realized their prey was getting away. I chunked the perfume bottles at them. My first two missed but the third made direct contact, shattering a lovely 'Evening Elegance' on one of them. That one stopped, shaking its head madly as if in pain-wiping its arms over its face as if trying to clean it. It growled and charged, completely missing us by a span of maybe six feet and crashing into the white pillars. IT WORKED! I chunked three of the others and ALL missed. Damn. My aim SUCKED.

"ACK!" I screamed as something large slammed into me, knocking me over. Slimy scaly skin that was cold to the touch and rough all over. Wait, some places were extremely soft. I heard a deep throated growling and spotted the tell-tale quivering of an upper lip as a second set of jaws snapped out of the Alien's mouth, to crash into the ground where my head had just been. Bits of tile shattered. I spotted the two people I'd rescued making a get-away. "GET OFF OF ME YOU OVERGROWN IGUANA!" I shouted, shoving at the disgusting slimy thing. Its tail whipped up and around, then shot straight down…piercing through my right shoulder. I screamed in agony, my head thunking hard against the floor beneath me as I writhed, trying to remove it. It hurt like hell, but I tried to ignore that and worry about staying alive. The alien was on top of me, standing on me, and I felt my bones straining beneath the pressure of its weight. It lowered its face to mine and I stared up at it with a brave face. I was going to die. Here I was…facing down death again. You can only run so far. "…Go ahead.." I told it in a whisper, it tilted its head slightly as if considering something before its lips peeled back, quivering as it prepared for the spring-reflex of its inner jaw. I'd seen those things against the human skull before. I was doomed. Dead.

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"_Hey…Mh'dur?_" Vis'chus called out after their mentor as they followed him through the mall. They'd activated their cloaking devices and supposedly were meant to keep quiet. Not that Vis'chus EVER did that.

"_What?_" Mh'dur asked, not bothering to turn around. He didn't sound angry though. Rh'vage kept quiet, fiddling with his cannons a bit.

"_Did you…Did you really mean what you said about the oomans as pets?_" Vis'chus asked and Mh'dur stopped walking. He turned around to examine them. First Vis'chus, who looked nervous, and then Rh'vage who appeared to be unimpressed.

"…_You are experiencing a molt?"_ Mh'dur asked, gently touching his student's arm. He could feel the flushed heat secreting from it, smell the heavy musk that accompanied it. It was a time to attract females into a mating ritual. Rh'vage gave a stiff nod. "_I take it that you have come in contact with female oomans then." _He chuckled at the sound of alarm from both of them. "_Do not take me for a fool…Young-bloods are always curious…Especially you Vis'chus…" _He fixed his younger student with a look that they could feel from behind his mask. "_I take it you've taken a liking to a pair?_"

"_PFT, oomans? A liking? I'd rather be caught DEAD_," Rh'vage snarled angrily. Mh'dur felt his mandibles flexing in amusement. Of course Rh'vage would never admit to liking an ooman. He'd consider it taboo. But Vis'chus was different, he had yet to experience his first molt and the first real female company he'd been in was with oomans. Mh'dur made an odd coughing sound and Rh'vage growled at him, this only served to prompt the same noise from Mh'dur but louder. He was laughing. Vis'chus tilted his head in confusion.

"_Rh'vage…I pity the day you find someone you really love…they will be hard to catch_," Mh'dur said, allowing himself to laugh a little more. Vis'chus made an impatient sound and Mh'dur sighed, relaxing and as he gave Vis'chus his full attention. "_What I said about the oomans still stands_." He was being serious and he saw Vis'chus droop his shoulders a bit in slight sorrow at the news. Mh'dur shook his head, refusing the urge to face palm. "_You can not KEEP the oomans as PETS_." He stressed the word out, hoping to get through to Vis'chus. Still nothing, but now Rh'vage was tilting his head in confusion. "_…never mind then_," He growled under his breath, stalking off again. Vis'chus glanced at Rh'vage who was just as confused in regards to his mentor's words. Rh'vage scratched idly at his arm as they walked. They stopped again, and Rh'vage fiddled with his controls not really paying any attention to what was going on. Vis'chus stood by his mentor, looking down at something on the second floor. Rh'vage assumed it was more hard meats that they were going to clean up in a second.

"_But she'll need help_," Vis'chus insisted. Rh'vage tapped a control on his wrist, trying to sync it back to his shoulder cannon. He'd somehow screwed it up earlier. It also looked like his detonator was off-line as well.

"_Watch and wait…Patience_," Mh'dur told his younger student as they studied the scene unfolding beneath them. The female ooman named Elizabeth was skating around, trying to be quiet about it. Rh'vage grunted and came over to see what was up. He spotted the female ooman below, alone. Something stirred in his stomach. She was alive though. She stopped, tugging at the bottom of her shirt and pulling it up, exposing the soft flesh beneath. What? Why would she do that? That wasn't appropriate for young females on earth. She was wiping sweat off her face. It was much warmer in here than she was probably accustomed to. She'd die on their home world if that were the case. A strange feeling was stirring in his gut as he watched her ease her discomfort. He was overcome with the urge to touch her. He shook his head lightly, dismissing that thought.

"_Pah…still alive I see_," Rh'vage commented off-handedly. Mh'dur felt an upper mandible twitch beneath his mask. He resisted the urge to smack Rh'vage.

"_Not for long…_," Vis'chus murmured and sounded greatly upset by this. "_She needs our help-_"

"_ENOUGH,_" Mh'dur snapped at Vis'chus, getting in his face. "_YOU will STAND BY AND WATCH…I've had ENOUGH of this…NOT another word OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! UNDERSTAND?_" He backed off, turning to watch the ooman on the ground below. It was peculiar that she was still alive on her own. He'd seen many oomans try to outwit Yautja before, he'd even had his fair share of oomans mixing with hard meats. None survived without Yautja intervention. His eyes narrowed as he tracked her motion. She'd heard something, and his scan indicated a few hard meats in the area. She pulled a small bottle of something out of her purse, Mh'dur couldn't quite tell what it was. It didn't look big enough to do any damage. She was watching two people taken prisoner by one of the hard meats, as if debating something. She crept forward, and froze as the hard meat's head whirled up and it growled warningly. She looked terrified now, and he could see the visible raise in her heartbeat. Another hard meat dropped down and the two hard meats began to fight it out. This was common amongst them. They each wanted to please the queen the best. While they were distracted the ooman wheeled over to the two on the ground and checked for vital signs. The two woke up, and the male started screaming.

"_Idiot!_," Vis'chus growled out, making as if to go forward. Mh'dur stopped him.

"_Wait,_" Mh'dur commanded and Vis'chus did. Rh'vage leaned forward slightly, wanting to see how she would die. Would it be with honor? He doubted it. She'd probably scream like all the other little oomans did before dieing. He'd seen the videos. They never went quietly. They'd plead for their pathetic lives. He almost missed what happened next as the female ooman started throwing stuff at the hard meat. She didn't seem to be aiming for anything in particular but then her third shot made contact. The object she threw exploded and all three Yautja stared in wide-eyed amazement as the hard meat dashed forward…but a width three ooman wide to crash into a pillar. "_Amazing…"_

"_I know right?_" Vis'chus said excitedly, but shut up at the warning growl. The ooman attempted to do the same with the other one, but missed and was tackled. The other two ooman quickly ran away. Only to be snatched by another hard meat further down the mall. The female ooman was sacrificing her life in vain. Mh'dur leaned forward, watching intently.

"GET OFF OF ME YOU OVERGROWN IGUANA!" the female ooman shouted angrily, trying to escape her captor and narrowly avoiding having her head punctured by the inner jaw. The hard-meat's tail whipped up and then speared her through her shoulder. Her flesh offered little to no resistance at it. She let out an agonizing scream. Rh'vage let a small chuckle drift from him and Vis'chus whirled on him. They missed what happened next because suddenly Mh'dur was leaping over the railing to land on the first floor. He uncloaked and the hard meat whirled its head to hiss at him.

"_NOW CAN WE KILL IT?"_ Vis'chus shouted, jumping down beside his mentor. He uncloaked, not waiting for an answer as he ran forward, slamming into the hard-meat and knocking it off of Elizabeth. His wrist blades sliced through its throat, decapitating it successfully when it was far enough away from the small ooman not to do any harm to her. He whirled around to see Mh'dur kneeling beside her and examining her shoulder. She was staring up at him with untrusting eyes that were glazed and squinting repeatedly with pain.

"So…what are…you?" She managed to get out, through gritted teeth. Mh'dur tilted his head to the side curiously, digging through a small attachment he had to pull out his container of healing cream. It had no real name to him. It worked, and that's all that mattered. It worked better than the powder stuff they once had to use, with the injections. All you had to do was get enough on your wounds to heal you. He paused though, not giving it to her and Vis'chus growled. "I mean…you've got…a cape…" She let out a light pained chuckle, wincing as the moment caused her a twinge of pain. She grimaced and glanced at her shoulder. "Eh…it's just…a flesh wound…I'm okay…" She then startled them all by struggling to get up. None of them made a move to help her as she eventually got to a standing position. She couldn't know that what Mh'dur held in one hand was something that could help her.

"I am Mh'dur," Mh'dur said with an incline of his head, speaking in ooman tongue thanks to his translator. He'd never bothered to try and learn it without the translator. He could listen to it and understand it without his mask. A large amount of the Yautja population could do that. Only a few could make themselves speak it without the help of a translator. But very, very few thought that was even something they should do. No one planned on getting close enough to an ooman to have to worry about a language barrier problem. They had their helmets with built in translators to solve that problem if it ever occurred. "I am the mentor to these two…"

"…Please tell me that they don't ACT like that because of you," the female ooman muttered under her breath, wincing as she poked lightly around her wound. "That's gonna leave a scar…" She turned back to him," Well…Thanks for your assistance…but I suppose this is where we split ways…" She made to move off but Mh'dur stopped her with a hand gesture. She glanced at him.

"You are injured…The smell of your blood will attract many hard meat to your location," Mh'dur informed her and she glared at him.

"Well yippee…best news I've had all day…," She muttered sarcastically, bending down to take the skates off. They weren't working too well for her in the stealth area of life. She'd have to suck it up and limp as she went find Terra. She almost fell over, unbalanced but Vis'chus caught her arm and held her in place until she was done. She straightened. "Thanks…" She said and he gave her a thumbs up, very slowly letting go of her.

"…You need our help," Mh'dur said, crossing his arms over his chest as he examined her. She seemed to be ignoring that Rh'vage was there, who seemed to be ignoring her as well. Oh well. The two would have to work together to get out of this mess. "…What were you doing earlier?" He asked, taking in her defensive stance and the fact that she had a whip attached to her hip with what looked like small studs stuck through out it. She wore bright red ankle socks on her feet and it looked like one of her ankles was swelling nastily.

"Your job?" She questioned, one of her eyebrows shooting up. She wasn't giving him the respect he was used to. Vis'chus looked nervous as if he wanted to stop her, even Rh'vage gave an estranged flinch as he finally turned his attention to the defiant teenager. She had her hands on her hips and was glaring up at him now. "I'm doing pretty well taking care of myself actually. Just gotta save my friend and then you guys can play with your toys all you wan-" She was cut off as she was hefted into the air a few feet higher then normal by Mh'dur. His fingers squeezed lightly around her throat so as not to irritate the bruising already there. He let out a slight growl of anger.

"You will NOT talk to me in that manner. I am NOT to be trifled with," He growled at her, giving her a light shake. She was shut up effectively enough. "Here's the deal…I'd leave you here to die…as you want…but these two IDIOTS," and he jerked his head in the direction of Vis'chus and Rh'vage," seem to have taken a liking to you and your missing friend. I have serious doubts that she's even alive as it is. Most likely she's already been implanted with a hard meat's child…" He seemed to be considering something as he held her up high. "You will work with us. You will do as I tell you to do. If at the end of this, you've proven your worth to ME…I will allow you the luxury of living…As living IS a luxury granted to us…"

"Understood," she squeaked out, as she was released, where she landed unsteadily on her feet, wincing as pain shot through her injured ankle.

"Take this…and heal," Mh'dur said tossing her his healing cream, before whirling around to walk off. His red cape (cloak?) swirling behind him in dramatic flair. Elizabeth glared at him before wiggling open the tube of stuff and fishing some of the gunk out with her finger. She tentatively smeared it on the front part of her shoulder, wincing as it stung in an icy touch that then morphed into an intense heat. Vis'chus dipped some out and got the back of her shoulder that she couldn't reach. To her amazement, her wound closed completely. Yeah. This stuff worked on the Yautja, but who's to say that it wouldn't kill a human? She bent down and smeared it around on her ankle. The pain stopped and she watched in awed fascination as the bruising faded, and the swelling reduced.

"_Mh'dur…what's the meaning of this?_" Rh'vage demanded as his mentor passed him. He could see his younger brother and the ooman talking to each other. Something about perfume bombs. She was digging through her side bag and pulling out bottles of fluids to show him. Vis'chus seemed enthralled with it.

"_Meaning?_" Mh'dur asked innocently, giving his pupil an amused look beneath the visor. Not that he could see it. He rolled his arms in an easy way, to show that he was waiting for Rh'vage to tell him what he was doing.

"_Letting some…OOMAN…travel with us_," Rh'vage snarled. Mh'dur didn't say anything. "_You MUST have some plan! Vis'chus wants to KEEP it…Disgusting creatures!_"

"They have killed many of our kind," Mh'dur said in English, getting Liz's attention. She gave him an odd and questioning look. "Yes. Your kind has bravely fought many of ours…Some were cowardly…We, the Yautja, are a brave race. We hunt others. We hunt you…We take back trophies from our worthy kills…Those of the ooman who prove themselves to us…get to live…if not…they usually will die." The way he said it was cold and disinterested. Elizabeth swallowed nervously, her heart rate spiking. Mh'dur let out that same choked sound before walking off. "We must keep moving…the queen must be taken care of…"

"…And he's your mentor?" Liz whispered to Vis'chus, who nodded enthusiastically. Rh'vage fell back to walk beside them, on the opposite side of Liz. She subconsciously moved a bit closer to him, not that he really minded all that much.

"Oh…that reminds me…What were you going to do?" Vis'chus asked and received a confused look in return, "When you were trapped underneath the hard meat."

"Ah," she said, glad he'd clarified. She paused, trying to consider it. "Uhm…I actually wasn't expecting to live…so I was just gonna got out as quickly as possible…no point in prolonging it…" The two Yautja fell silent and she felt like she'd done something wrong.

"Pah," Rh'vage said, smacking her in the back of her head. She scowled at him, and he smacked her head again. She ducked underneath him as he tried to do it again.

"STOP IT!" She whined, ducking around Vis'chus to his other side. Vis'chus lightly thumped her head. Considering she was shorter than them, it was VERY easy to do. She growled and batted at his hand. "STOP, STOP, STOP! Don't pick on the kid whose vertically challenged. " They all stopped, all three turning to look at her. "Uh…you know…the short kid?" Nothing. "…Screw it…So, big and mighty red caped one-" She started sarcastically and Mh'dur stepped towards her with a threatening growl. She backed up quickly, hands out in front of her defensively. "uh, Mh'dur… sir… uhm …what's the plan?" She asked, all arrogance slipping out of her tone for once. Rh'vage let out a slight snort, even an ooman wasn't fool enough to argue with Mh'dur. Vis'chus made a sound like he was choking on something and Rh'vage thumped him in the back worriedly.

"…hmph," He grunted, seeming to approve of her change in behavior, "We hunt." He said, continuing to walk as if nothing had happened. Liz grumbled something under her breath that none of them could hear.

"_The ooman has spirit_," Vis'chus commented, almost sounding pleased. Rh'vage flared his mandibles in annoyance, tapping on the screen within his mask to try and pull up a set of schematics on the mall. He got nothing but interference.

"_Mh'dur? What's wrong with the-?" _Rh'vage started to ask when Mh'dur suddenly stopped, throwing a fist up in the air to halt them. He made a gesture with his hand and the three cloaked, leaving Liz almost alone. She put her hands on her hips, putting on her brave front even though her heart-rate escalated.

"Oh SURE~," She said sarcastically. "Leave the scrawny kid by herself to defend-" She shut up as an invisible clawed hand clamped over her mouth and she was pulled back into someone's…very…hard…abs. Judging from the almost intoxicating smell that seemed to overcome her, it had to be Rh'vage. He was radiating so much heat that it almost burned where her exposed skin touched his. Her red tank top clung to her skin with sweat, as did her leggings and the skirt she wore. Wearing only bright red ankle socks, not the best option when working with acid-blooded evil cats.

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"Oh SURE~," I snapped sarcastically, hands planted firmly on my hips as I watched the three tall Yautja vanish into thin air. They were leaving me again. "Leave the scrawny kid by herself to defend-" I started to snap a little angrily when something clamped over my mouth stopping my speech. I was pulled backwards against something very hot. Temperature wise. I felt like my skin was on fire, possibly due to the fact that I was sweating and it was hot in here anyways. It had to be Rh'vage. Vis'chus had cold skin compared to the temperature in here. Unless it'd gotten hotter. An odd thrumming sensation went through me. Not from me, but from Rh'vage. He was….

Purring. Wait. What?

"Dfgh," I said against his hand as that thick scent wafted off of him. My brain started to slip away from me, as some weird instinct started overcoming me. A drive to…to…mate? What the fuck? No. Bad, bad, bad. BAD! I was NOT jumping this dude right here and right now. It was building inside of me. Desire. Lust. You name it, I was probably feeling it; a LOT! I'd never been partaken in sexual activity willingly. The only sex I ever had came from times I was raped by my father. Yeah. Charges were supposedly pressed, but the worthless slime-ball had a way of talking to police…mayors…Flash a little green and EVERYTHING is solved right? Fucking heartless world. Anyways, not to get off the topic of my newly discovered feelings for Mr. Crab-leg face here…but DAMN, the feeling of those abs…and all that wonderful heat radiating from his back. I was about to melt on him right then and there.

We were backing up, or he was leading me out of the path of something I hadn't seen yet. I didn't seem to care, or my brain didn't register that it SHOULD be caring yet. Like I said, NO idea what was wrong with me. Was it that molt thing? Terra had explained it like certain birds. It was when they sought out mates. The scent from the Yautja, as Vis'chus sort of tried to explain to us, activated a pheromone in another being who had 'good qualities' towards being a 'good' mate for him. Apparently humans and Yautja shared the same sexual organs. Lord forbid. His other arm was encircled around my lower stomach, keeping me pressed back against him. My tank top had ridden up, so it was only his hot arm against my cool stomach.

Bare flesh touching. Just us. Mental cringe there.

"Ah donft fink bis gwfh eghd," I tried to tell him. His hand on my mouth tightened warningly and I heard the strange purring sound decrease a bit in volume and intensity. I remained still, getting the hint. No more talking. I gave a small nod of understanding and his clawed hand slipped slowly off of my mouth. He didn't remove his other arm from its position and I remained pressed against him.

Such odd thoughts I had. Not appropriate at all. There were probably Xenomorphs near.

He was relaxing his arm around me, and I trailed my fingers over the invisible appendage, unable to see it with my own eyes. I could feel it with my own fingers though. Not slimy at all. Rough in some places, but overall it felt pretty tough to me. Idly I twisted in his loose grasp, unable to see him, but like I said. I could still feel him. My fingers traced their way up his invisible arms…it's an odd experience…touching something you can't see. That scent was heavenly. Mind-reeling. I was fighting myself NOT to do things to him. Strange, twisted, perverted, and UNMENTIONABLE things! Not appropriate. My movements were slow, muddled. My breathing had pitched to a strained almost labored frenzy to keep up with my pounding heart. But not in fear this time. Proximity did this. The feel of his claw tipped fingers as they trailed up my back-Whoa, wait a second. My back. He was touching my back.

Not that I cared.

My fingers drifted up his lower stomach, crossing his rock hard abs towards his Pecs. Cool palms flat against the taut thick flesh of his chest, I could feel the thrumming of his odd purring as it vibrated through him to my fingers. So loud and clear to me. I leaned closer, pressing myself flat against him, the side of my cheek meeting that burning flesh. A pleasant sensation was created. I would've thought that my sweat would've sickened him. The fact that I was still covered in putrid Xeno slime, human blood, and guts. None of that really seemed to matter in that moment.

Were we having a moment? Damn. Did I even care?

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I can't be entirely sure what I planned to do as that female ooman started her incessant babbling. She wouldn't know that Mh'dur had signaled silence with a simple gesture, or that we were carrying out our plans. He gave me an order to do something about her. Vis'chus feared that I was just going to kill her, but that would be in dishonor. So I settled with clapping a hand over her mouth, and wrapping an arm around her midriff to drag her backwards with me out of the way. I had plans to ditch her in a nearby store, or a closet. Lock it up. Come back later to get her, or not. If she blew up in the resulting explosion we wouldn't have to worry about what happened next with her. Yautja, such as Mh'dur, were always forced to CARE for these stupid oomans. So what if ONE blew up.

Her flesh was cool against my fevered skin. I wasn't quick to release her, taking small comfort in some form of relief from my molt. If only a little. Actual mating rid the process much quicker. Don't ask. I'd never tried it. Mh'dur, as my mentor, had explained it to me when I'd gone through the first molt. A talk I could happily live without ever hearing again. I didn't need to sire children yet. I had too much of life left to live. Her soft touch dragged me out of those thoughts, well. Not completely. She was so soft…so…touchable. She was turning around in my hold. I'd moved my hand from her mouth after her silent agreement to be quiet. Thank you. But now she was touching me. At first it bothered me, but then…A deep rattling started in my throat, producing slight vibrations that shook through me. How could an ooman do this to me? The molt was for Yautja. Sure. We shared some traits with oomans, but we were different. Weren't we?

Was I defective? The thought scared me, but then I was pulled once more from my thoughts as her fingers trailed over my abs and rested against my chest muscles. She seemed content, and I could say the same of myself. There was a deep need building in my muscles. That awkward hardening beneath my loins. Okay. I'll be male enough to say I was having a moment with a female ooman. Was I worried?

Yes.

I took a deep steadying breath, cool air filtering through my mask against me. This was wrong. All wrong. I should be with a nice Yautja female. Not some ooman girl who wasn't even old enough to be considered breeding material. I couldn't stop my fingers as they trailed along her lower back. Through the thin material that she used to clothe her delicate body. It was virtually useless with the amount of perspiration emitted from her. It identified her, scent-wise. So strong it was. I could smell her strong desire wafting off of her. She was untouched, and unclaimed.

She could be mine. What a peculiar thought process. She was ooman. I was Yautja. Damned molt. This wasn't right. This was wrong. Her cheek brushed against me as she rested her head against my chest. It felt good. Having her this close to me. To claim her as-PAUK. No. I pushed her away from me almost angrily. She was startled, but then she appeared to be coming out of some sort of daze. Good. No hard feelings then. I shook off whatever lingering emotions I had for her. I needed to focus on our mission. Destroy the queen hive. Make sure no hard meats where left.

Not form attachments to some dumb ooman.

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"mmm," Terra let out a small groan of pain, as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head hurt. So did her back. Actually. Everything hurt. Mental inventory done, she focused on her surroundings. Her blue jacket was missing and her dark blue shirt was ripped in the back as if slashed by claws. Her jeans were sticky with some sort of slimy stuff, drool, or something? She was also missing her right shoe. She had the left one on still though. Her chestnut brown hair was all messy too. She could feel parts of it plastered down with the same disgusting gunk on her pants.

Where the hell was she?

A soft hissing noise caught her attention and she turned her attention to the front, as she'd sat up to look around. She found herself face to face with another of those evil cat creatures. She was probably going to have a phobia of cats when all of this was over with. Its upper lip twitched, quivering and pulling back to reveal glistening teeth underneath the second mouth. Terra didn't move a muscle, not wanting to risk that thing going off this close to her. She'd never survive. She closed her eyes. Maybe she was being cowardly, but she'd rather not see the end coming. Something bumped her arm, lifting up slightly in motion. It vanished and returned again. She opened her eyes, and spotted the cat thing doing it with its large head.

Did it want her to stand up?

She very slowly rose, waiting for it to strike her down if she went too fast or if she was reading this wrongly. The thing stopped, and backed up a bit as it seemed to study her. She didn't know how though. It seemed sightless. It hissed almost angrily at her, its tail lashing impatiently from side to side.

"okay, okay," she said quickly, voice trembling in fear as she held her hands up in the defensive pose. The creature tilted its head curiously to the side, tail slowly whipping from side to side as it seemed to regard her. Slime and salvia pooled beneath it before it hissed, taking a few steps away from her, and waiting. She shuffled after it, missing her other shoe, but NOT taking off the only one she had. The air was sort of stuffy, so she didn't miss the jacket all that much. She stepped in a pool of ooze and groaned, smacking her face as she tried to scrape off the stuff onto the floor, following her demon cat guard. She doubted she could run away fast enough, besides she didn't even know where she was location wise. She stopped just outside a row of weird egg-like sac things on the ground. They looked like…

Eggs. Totally.

She bent, reaching out for one, but a hissing caught her attention. Demon cat guard was NOT happy at all. She straightened, hands up again. "No touching. Got it." She followed the creature through a weird network of hallways. What in the hell? WHO built a Mall like THIS? The further they went, the hotter it got. She felt sweat dripping off of her rather quickly. The only strange part about this was that she wasn't scared, more like curiosity pulsed through her. She hurried along when it appeared the drone, as Liz had called it, started moving faster. She skidded to a halt in awe at what had to be the LARGEST demon cat creature ever. It had a strange crown of ridges that fanned out in a dome around her head. Had to be a female, to be called Queen. It turned its head in the general direction of her, letting out a strange hiss. The drone crooned back something that got an irritated hiss in return.

"Uh…hi, I'm Terra," Terra said with a slight wave, getting the Queen's attention again. "I think there's been some sort of mistake. See…I'm with the good guys, I can't DIE yet…I wanna be in the sequel." The Queen hissed at her, lowering her head closer to her. Terra started to back up, but found herself blocked by the drone who pushed her closer with its head. Head butting the backs of her legs to get her to move closer. She swallowed nervously. The Queen was larger. Thus forth, a swifter death. "Please? I-I really don't wanna have one of them suckers-" The Queen hissed almost angrily and Terra quickly changed her mind, "-Would be an HONOR to have your baby…" She said quickly, then made a face. "Ew…I mean…You're a girl right?" Another loud hiss, the upper lip peeled back quivering in that hypnotizing manner that drew humans in like flies to their death.

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"Why the hell would you do that to another human being?" Daniel snarled from his tied up position. His temples throbbed, possibly from being kicked repeatedly by a midget Asian teenager. He snarled as the kid lashed out again, kicking him in the stomach.

"Shut the FUCK up dude…Don't you get it? Your girlfriend's as good as dead," the Asian snarled, spitting on Daniel when he glared at him.

"She's NOT my girlfriend for the last fucking time," Daniel snapped at the Asian kid, who sneered at him.

"Do I look like I FUCKING care?" The kid asked, tilting his head with that prissy attitude, "NO…so SHUT THE FUCK UP…I'll staple your god-damn mouth together if I fucking have to." He seemed to think about something. "Where's that other bitch you were with? Not that it fucking matters….Bitch is dead."

"Probably not. I mean she does have some really tough friends helping her out right now, and all you're going to end up doing is making sure that she and her new buddies come after you," Daniel retorted as smugly as he could while wincing in pain from the kicks he received.

"Shut the FUCK up!" Asian kid snarled, pointing the stolen cross-bow at Daniel's head. "Or I'll FUCKING blow your head off…Shit dude…" He stalked off a little ways, checking that his traps were in place. He could see Victoria tied up by a water feature near an auto-shop. The one where they kept stereos for cars. This wouldn't take long at all. He tensed, hearing the tell-tale dragging of the alien creatures as they moved in to claim their prize. He'd rigged a few fire extinguishers, and propped himself up aiming for them as the first creature slid past into what he'd labeled the first area. Victoria screamed loudly, and he cringed. He'd forgotten to put her gag back in, but maybe this would work to his favor.

"SHIT!" the other male's voice called out from behind him and the Asian whirled around, heart jumping in fear. There were more creatures then he'd accounted for closing in on him. He fired randomly, knocking the fire-extinguisher into it's place and setting all of them off as the wires went whipping away. The creatures screeched in fury, trying to get away from the projectiles. One got caught and flew a few good meters before slamming into a wall. Asian kid was already running away. He didn't make it far, as he tripped and was tackled by one of the creatures. Daniel slid across the ground towards the dropped cross-bow, attempting to undo his binds. The cross-bow sliced through them and he was freed immediately. He leapt up and took off towards Victoria. None of the creatures were by her, more concerned with the exploding paint cans that showered all of them. Suddenly a billion bouncing balls were falling all over the place and the creatures were slipping and sliding in the mess, crashing into each other and the ground. Daniel had to admit that the Asian kid had thought this out a bit, and that wasn't even the end of it. He grabbed Victoria's hand, helping her up as they ran.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!" Victoria cried out and screamed as one of the creatures tackled her. She hit the ground, holding an arm out towards Daniel. "SAVE ME! HELP ME!" Her screams filled the air as Daniel ran away from her, not bothering to try and save her. He kept running a good distance, not slowing until he was certain he'd gotten far enough away, then he all but fell down on his knees panting. There was the sound of metal swishing through the air, before something cold and sharp touched his throat. Warningly. He froze.

"A good reason why I shouldn't kill you," a deep male voice spoke out calmly and with authority. It demanded respect. Daniel knew it had to be one of the Yautja Elizabeth was traveling with. Rh'vage? Vis'chus? "You abandoned that female back there…Why should I not kill you now?…hmmm?" Daniel's heart stilled. He'd left Victoria, and saved himself. But that was the survival of the fittest right?

"Where's Elizabeth?" Daniel demanded into the air, "If you SAW that back there, why the HELL didn't you stop it to-" The claws pressed into his throat, drawing blood and stopping his speech.

"…I'll be the one with the questions…Now…tell me…Why should I let you live? What purpose do you have?" That voice spoke out in a slow manner, each word filled with the weight and purpose. He wasted no words that was for sure. Daniel swallowed.

"Uh…I could uh…provide distraction…or…," He trailed off, his brain getting a weird thought, "You guys are after those cat things right? So, you need to find the Queen…What if I let myself get captured and you follow me there?" There was silence, then he was released. The claws retracted and then there was a shimmering in the air of two places and two Yautja appeared. One was Vis'chus. The one who'd had him was NOT Rh'vage. He had a red cape, and appeared taller, more important then the other two.

"Elizabeth's with Rh'vage," Vis'chus said and nervously glanced back in the general direction they'd came. He was worried about her, and NOT just because Rh'vage was in molt…okay…BECAUSE Rh'vage was molting was a big concern of his. BIG, BIG, BIG. He hoped Rh'vage could control any urges he had, because if he didn't…Mh'dur would most likely kill him. Vis'chus shuffled nervously, and Mh'dur spotted it.

"Peace Vis'chus…here they come now," Mh'dur said with a slight incline of his head at the emerging pair. His eyes narrowed slightly as if appeared Elizabeth was a bit disgruntled and flustered. The closer they got, the heavier the scent of two prospective mates came….

Oh pauk.

[END NOTE: Hope you enjoyed darlings. I LOVE reviews by the way. Let's me know if I should keep this going…I really wanna do the sequel…XD…but I've got stuff planned for this story. Next one's called Ooman's Revenge because it makes more sense for it. Hope you enjoyed, and thanks Khalthar for your hard work.]


	8. An Ooman's Revenge

**[I do not own AVP. Sorry for the DELAY~! I've got no other excuse…other than laziness, and my muse for this DIED…but I shall TRY to forage onwards! Rawr. Alien milk and Predator cookies for anyone who STUCK with this… *sheepish* Reviews welcome as always~!]**

Chapter Eight "Ooman's Revenge"

"…Do they even know where they're going?" Daniel whispered quietly to Elizabeth who was walking in front of him. They had entered a doorway leading to the maintenance hallway and were slowly making their way through the darkened almost tunnel-like halls. He couldn't help but discreetly check out her ass as they walked. The way her skirt seemed to cling to her sweaty form the same way her tank top did. Liz glanced over her shoulder at him with an unimpressed expression.

"These guys are like freaking geniuses in the art of hunting…I'm SURE they have like some sort of alien GPS," Liz said, trying for a little amusement by the mischievous glint in her eyes. Her hair was plastered to her head due to the sweat. Daniel was sure he wasn't in any better shape. Daniel made a slight grunt of appreciation for the attempt to lighten the mood. None of the Yautja had said anything so far and it appeared Mh'dur was leading the way while the other two simply followed his lead.

"So…You uh…seeing anyone?" Daniel asked, changing the subject. The gentle rhythmic sway of her hips from side to side as they walked was a bit distracting for him. He swallowed hard as she pinned him with her icy blue eyes, they seemed to penetrate his very soul and he stopped in his tracks.

"Let's see Daniel," She said, her tone dropping to sound bitter-sweet. A sure sign that he'd officially pissed her off, "I'm trapped in a mall, with three buffed up linebackers, a horde of crazy cat-things and I've lost my ONLY friend…." Her tone switched to irritation, "AND YOU'RE MAKING A FUCKING MOVE ON ME?" She screeched at him. Suddenly the Yautja had stopped to watch their discussion. Surprisingly Mh'dur didn't seem irritated; instead, he appeared amused by this. Vis'chus was tilting his head curiously to the side and it was Rh'vage that seemed about to attack Daniel. Daniel swallowed nervously.

"I was just—," Daniel started, trying to defend himself.

"Oh I KNOW what you were doing Mister," Liz snapped at him, stepping closer to him. For a short girl, she could be pretty intimidating when angry. She jabbed a finger into his chest, glaring up at him. "You're trying to find a way to COPE with all this shit that's happening around us. I KNOW. Don't fuck with me." She shook her head, "I'm here to rescue Terra with or without you. Get in my way, and I'm going to make sure the crazy cat-things have one more meal before they go kaboom. Do I make myself clear?"

"P-perfectly," Daniel stuttered with a slight nod.

"Good," Elizabeth snapped, turning to go. She flicked Rh'vage in the chest as she passed, causing him to growl slightly but not in a threatening way. "Come on Nav-star. Lead the way." Mh'dur shook his head with a strange bark-like noise before continuing to lead the way. Rh'vage remained closely behind Elizabeth, as if to put a solid barrier between her and Daniel. Vis'chus seemed to study Daniel silently, but it was hard to tell beneath that mask. Then Vis'chus followed after his brother swiftly. Daniel couldn't help but notice that despite them being alien beings and huge, they could walk pretty lightly with little to no noise. He was all that more aware of all the noise he made now. The slight scruff of his shoe, and the sound of his breathing seemed to be impossibly loud. He strained his ears, but could barely hear anything from Elizabeth. The tunnels were growing darker and darker by the minute.

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"Okay…Mr. Limp, was it?" Terra asked as they walked onwards. She was tired, and hungry. She was also thirsty. Oh, and covered in disgusting goo. She contemplated this as she tried to scrape more gunk off of her foot without tripping. Her chestnut brown hair was plastered to her with the same sticky goo. Crazy-cat goo. Now she was stuck with Mr. Limp and he wasn't very talkative. She hadn't been eaten. In fact, the most the giant Queen kitty had done was bump her a bit with its giant head as if figuring something out. At least she wasn't dead yet. Due to being distracted, Terra stepped in another trail of slimy gunk and promptly slipped, almost smashing her face into the ground. What stopped her was Mr. Limp's tail whipping out and around her in a sling of sorts. He hissed almost irritably at her and she quickly got up. "My bad." She said, her hands up in a defensive posture. The creature hissed at her, lips peeling back to reveal the sharp and deadly interior teeth within.

She had to admit that they weren't all that bad looking really. Very cat-like. Kind of graceful. Sure they lacked the raw masculinity that someone like Vis'chus and Rh'vage had, but they were kind of cute really. Mr. Limp's tail, as she'd taken to call him, whipped up in aggravation at her. They were having a slight communications problem and suffering from it. She sighed, tapping a finger to her lip in thought. "Okay…so…do you actually understand what I'm saying?" Terra questioned, planting hands on her hips and giving Mr. Limp a searching look. He merely kept his head angled at her with no real response. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her noise. Then she heard it, a soft rasping noise. A quick glance at Mr. Limp revealed him to be shaking slightly.

"You're…laughing at me," Terra pointed at and Mr. Limp flicked his tail," Okay. So you DO understand me…if only a little bit…I think you at least now I'm talking TO you…" Mr. Limp's head slowly tilted to the side as if he were examining her, but not with a visual sight. He seemed to lack eyes, so she wondered if all the other senses were magnified. She reached a hand out shakily to press two finger tips to him, gently brushing over the top of his head, down to the curls of his mouth. Mr. Limp held still for her, seeming to debate attacking her. Terra wouldn't know his real thoughts. Only that he hadn't attacked her.

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Stinger watched her in the only way that he could. Tasting the air with his open mouth. There was…a lack of fear. She wasn't afraid, not even a bit worried. This was good because it now worked in his advantage. He'd seen through the queen's plans. She wanted him out of the way; because she knew that he wouldn't allow the older queen to kill the new one. She couldn't just outright kill him though, that would stir up diversion in the ranks. All chaos would break loose. Queens liked order. She wouldn't risk it. So she'd sent him on a suicide mission, to destroy the Yautja that were present in this place.

He would have to disobey her, but he considered it tribute to the new queen. She was young, most likely trying to run off to find somewhere that she could molt in peace and grow bigger. This wouldn't be a possibility. Not as long as the old queen remained alive. He would have to make sure the Yautja got to the Queen, but not before he got out and found the new queen. He would be her new lieutenant, and help her create a new family for them. Here on Earth. His plans factored on Terra leading the Yautja to his old Queen though, and to do that…he had to get her back to them alive. He hissed softly, trying to figure out the best route for this. He'd have to make sure she knew her locations. He stopped and butted her slightly with his head, before indicating the wall beside them.

Her lips parted and she made a strange noise. They were always making noises. Noises he couldn't ever comprehend. They made no sense to him, and he didn't care. He just needed her to do what he wanted. He had to get out of here with the New Queen, but he had to make the Yautja believe all of them were dead. He also needed this human's assistance. He was irritated now, shaking his head from side to side. There it was again, a noise. The human girl kept doing it with two of her fingers. Sliding them together to make an audible noise. He scratched at the floor with his feet, creating a gouge and the human girl shut up. Finally. He could tell she was looking at the ground, then he whipped his tail out, knocking a deep scratch into the wall. She tilted her head, picking up a piece of rock and drawing something on the wall. This wasn't going well at all. He let his head drop, tapping the floor with it. He needed to find the young queen, to teach her their ways before it was too late. She needed to start building up her family here on Earth. He felt fingers trailing lightly over him again. It actually felt kind of nice and he pressed into her fingertips, arching his back as her nails slid across the ridge of his jawline.

What could he do to make her understand? He needed her, in order to take the queen with him. The young, new one. To hide it. More noise from her, noise he couldn't understand. He'd never really learned human talk before. Even the Yautja made noises half the time and he still didn't know what they wanted. Only that they tried to kill him. All he wanted to do was serve his queen. That was it. Was it that hard to ask for a little assistance? He felt the fingers wrap around one of his spiked ridges and he got an idea. He started forward but halted when her hand dropped from him, and didn't resume pace until she put her hand back on him. Every now and then, the human girl would reach over and draw something on the wall and he would wait patiently. He knew where the Yautja were, and they were going the wrong way. Nothing was ever easy was it?

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"Alright….even I'm starting to doubt that you know where you're going," I finally muttered under my breath. Mh'dur stopped and I ran into him, falling flat on my ass. Right into a cold puddle of water. Ew. But I knew better than to voice my opinion. Rh'vage offered me a hand up. A very warm hand. I felt myself blush as he pulled me up against him. It was the pheromones. Had to be them. Only reason I was finding myself attracted to this idiot. A killer. Someone who murdered my own kind. Damn. I really wish I had Terra to deal with this stuff. The feel of something brushing over my cheekbone and then behind my ear brought to my attention that Rh'vage had just tucked some hair behind my ear….like any normal boy would. I swatted at his hand.

"…We're…," Mh'dur started and trailed off, seeming to thump his helmet.

"Typical…men…never stop and ask for directions," I muttered, hands on my hips," Hey Vis'chus…Let's go kill some of the demonic-kats out there while Sir Attitude figures out how to ask the On-Star lady for directions." I slipped out the door marked Maintenance. Though, why the sign was facing me I wasn't too certain about. I peeked around, but saw no demon creatures and my eyes fell onto a Music Store. The kinds with all the stereo systems and sound devices. I felt a grin stretch out onto my face as a cunning idea worked into my head. "Hey…Vis'chus…you got a favorite station?" I indicated the store and he titled his head curiously.

"Excuse me?" he asked, confused and I laughed.

"Music?" I questioned and he shook his head.

"The noise will attract too many of the…demon-cats as you seem to like calling them," he told me. Rh'vage had followed us. Eventually Mh'dur came out, muttering under his breath in a series of clicks. Daniel shuffled out too.

"Yeah…you keep telling me that…Look…Have you ever seen the move 'Eight-legged Freaks'?" I questioned and by the silence, knew they hadn't.

"Was that the movie where the guy got tazered in the balls?" Daniel questioned stupidly and I nodded with a happy smile. Daniel winced.

"Come on…There was an important factor in that movie with the spiders that were hunting them," I said, indicating that we were in a mall.

"You…want to spray them with…perfume?" Daniel questioned stupidly and I struggled HARD to resist the urge to facepalm.

"No…I do not…My cologne bombs sure as hell did NOT work out like planned," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Look…what if we take one of their senses…and overload it…making it useless…like…sound?" I pointed at my ear. Took them a few seconds to get it and I muttered under my breath before heading into the store. They followed me, amazingly. "Look…stores like this…" I started scanning the wall for it, "AH HA. Intercom system…triggered around the ENTIRE mall…" I pressed the button on the wall. "Hello Alien-freaks. Welcome to the Mall of Stone where we hope to ROCK YOUR WORLD!" I started to laugh before dashing around and flicking things on, and cranking the volume up. Some of them were rock and roll or heavy metal. A few country. All went as loud as possible. Daniel caught on and started flipping as many as he could too and turning them up. "I need…duct-tape…Hey…Vis'chus…I need something that'll make the intercom stay on…" He tossed me a roll of the gray stuff that had been sitting on one of the shelves and I put a bunch of tape over the button that triggered the intercom. Soon the racket could be heard all over the store, followed by a few crashing sounds. Too much racket. I jiggled my bag, which still weighed quite a bit. "Time to go throw some perfume bombs to confuse the senses…" I got the feeling they were all staring at me dumb-struck now. "Guys…it's pretty loud in here…lets go…we've got a friend to rescue…and a queen to blow up."

^&*(*& (*&^()(* )(^^()(* )(^^()(* (&^)(& )&^)(* )&^() )(^) )()*& (^)&)&

"Wait…I hear…," Terra trailed off, tilting her head and listening. The walls were reverberating with the sound of-," I LOVE THIS SONG!" She squealed and started dancing. It took her a minute to notice that Mr. Limp was gone. "Spoil-sport…I could've showed you how to groove…" She huffed and then spotted a sign that said Maintenance. "Who designed this thing? The sign goes on the OTHER side of the door…if you're ON this side…you know it's work-time…not play time." She pushed the door open, and the sounds inside the mall became louder and she found herself grinning. "YEAH! ROCK OUT BABIES!" She threw her hands in the air with the universal 'Rock' sign and started head-banging before strumming the air guitar. "WHOO-HOO! YEAH!" Her chestnut brown hair bounced in chunks, considering most of it was plastered to her head. She was still missing a shoe, so she headed for the Payless Shoe-store that she'd been captured from originally and began browsing their selection. It was dark but she found a nice pair of boots to slip into.

"La la la~!" She said, skipping off. She felt energetic, and alive. The evil-kitty hadn't eaten her…yet. But now she was going to die happy, surrounding by chaotic noise. The happy feeling lasted until she was tackled and crashed into the ground. "HOLY SHIT! I WAS KIDDING! I WAS KIDDING! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" She screamed, amazingly making herself heard over the music.

"Shut up, shut up….just shut up," a familiar voice snapped at her, squeezing her tighter and she noticed three very buff looking…things…plus one skinny dude.

"Oh hi-ya Danny, what's up?" Terra questioned, giggling and patting Liz's back. "Man. You must be one crazy bitch, Liz. Playing music for the kitties like that." Liz finally released her and sat up.

"How are you alive?" Liz demanded.

"Oh. The really big kitty kat? I guess she decided to let me go…fair-game for the other kitty-kats to eat me. I want a cat now…Can I get some cats, Lizzie? Please?" Terra questioned with big pleading eyes. "Pretty please? I'm going to name them pretty names…will you help me pick them out?"

"Hell…We survive? I'll buy you a whole LITTER of cats," Liz snapped, wiping at her eyes as tears dripped from them.

"You that happy to see me, hunh?" Terra asked, with another giggle. "Oh, I know how to get back to the queen by the way…" She was hoisted up quickly by Mh'dur. "oh wow…you've got to be the BUFFEST one of them all. Are you single by any chance?" Her look was sly as her eyes slid over Mh'dur's incredible abs, then back to his mask," You've even got this cool little superhero cape going on….mmm….I REALLY love a man in uniform."

"Where is the QUEEN?" Mh'dur demanded, shaking her slightly and her head snapped back and forth.

"Whoa dude, whoa. If you want something, then we've got a quo per quo thingy… whatever the hell it's called. You do something for me, and I do something for you. Got it?" Terra demanded, crossing her arms under her midriff. Calm despite the fact that she was being hoisted in the air by the front of her shirt.

"…How about I let you LIVE?" Mh'dur snarled and she actually seemed to contemplate that.

"Get me some ice-cream from Dipping Dots first and we've got a deal," Terra said and Mh'dur snarled.

"I've got this one," Daniel said with a shake of his head, heading for the dipping dots stand near them. That's where Terra had spotted it. "Um…you want Cookies-and-brains, or Mint Chocolate-I'm-pretty-sure-its-guts or—" He was being serious.

"…I'll skip," Terra said meekly as her face fell.

"Are you sure? The Chocolate-blood-swirl looks REALLY tasty-," Daniel started to say teasingly and Terra threw up at Mh'dur's feet. Well. Really on his feet.

"I'll take you to the big kitty now," Terra said, swallowing, "Now that I feel better." She smiled at Mh'dur. "I still think you're really cute. What are you like when you molt? Do you hold back? I'd like to see what you do when you aren't holding back. Are you really strong? I like strong men with lots of muscle. Though, you aren't really a man. I mean, you're male. You've got to be male. You don't have any boobs—" Mh'dur dropped her and she squeaked as he growled under his breath. She stood up, huffily.

"At least he didn't drop you in your puke," Liz commented quietly and Terra thought about that.

"You're so right. I'm definitely growing on him," Terra said, patting Mh'dur on the arm. "I still like you." She winked at him. "offer's still on too." Mh'dur growled, flexing his knuckles where his metal claws were attached. This young one was beyond disrespectful, but other than that…she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Okay…Lead us to the evil Queen," Elizabeth said with a gesture of her hand. Terra tilted her head.

"But I want something to snack on…," Terra whined, lower lip jutting out, " I've been trapped with evil kitties…and I'm hungry…" She sniffled, and was startled with a clawed hand shoved a small bag of skittles into her face. "YAY! TASTE THE RAINBOW!" She all but attacked the bag of skittles.

"I'm seriously…starting to worry," Daniel murmured into Liz's ear.

"hmm? Who, Terra? Nah. She's fine…She gets that way if she isn't balanced," Elizabeth replied, arms crossed over her mid-riff.

"Balanced?" Daniel asked and even Rh'vage was looking over at them. But Daniel couldn't tell which of them he was more interested in.

"Her metabolism is very high. She's usually constantly snacking," Elizabeth murmured. "Except she's been dieting lately….due to Victoria…"

"What'd Vic do?" Daniel questioned. Elizabeth glanced over at him.

"What she always does," Liz replied with a slight shrug, "Terra wanted to be a cheerleader…" She trailed off as the two tried to imagine Terra being a cheerleader.

"I think she'd make a good quarter-back," Daniel murmured and Liz nodded. "But what'd Vic do?"

"All but humiliated her…Said she was too fat for their uniform criteria and that she wasn't pretty enough to root on the cheer-whores of Stone high," Liz muttered as they watched Terra inhale Skittles from the bag. Where had Vis'chus even gotten those from? The fact that he seemed capable of continuing to produce bags for her was almost even more shocking. Elizabeth shook her head, rubbing at her face. "oooh…we get out of here…I'm hitting the showers….for at least two hours….maybe a shower…then a long soak in the bath tub."

"That sounds nice," Terra commented, after tearing into the fourth bag of skittles," Okay. Evil kitty…THAT way." She about took off but Vis'chus grabbed her arm, preventing her from just running away. She looked at him confused.

"Terra…This is an important mission," Vis'chus explained, talking to her like he would a child. "That means we have to sneak in…and sneak out…No loud noises…no…uhm…"

"Impromptu Terra moments?" Terra teased, flashing her still white teeth at him. She reached up and patted the side of his helmet, "I get it. I get it. I'm just all over the place. My bad…" She put her hands in front of her, drawing them to her chest. "Focused. Got it." And she really did seem pretty focused then. "Let's go blow up some evil-kitties." She calmly led the way to the door she'd previously exited.

"Is she bi-polar?" Daniel whispered to Terra, "or suffer from ADHD maybe? Or ADD?" Elizabeth paused, thinking about that.

"I don't think so…She's just unique…She's Terra," Liz replied candidly as if that somehow explained everything, before slipping into the door. Rh'vage bumped Daniel out of the way, putting himself closer to Liz. Daniel backed up, and almost bumped into Mh'dur who growled.

"I'm on the band-wagon where no one likes me," Daniel muttered under his breath. Mh'dur grabbed his shoulder.

"I have use for you," Mh'dur said, stopping Daniel from going into the tunnel with the rest. "You will play decoy…" Daniel tilted his head, confused. "We will set up the….explosives…and you will distract the hive…I am proposing that you run VERY fast." Daniel nodded quickly, before following the rest of them. Great. Just great. Now he was on the band-wagon of suicidal death. Was EVERYONE out to get him?

[**End note: I'm totally wrapping this story up. Expect a few more chapters…and then it's over. Of course, there's going to be the sequel. But I plan on typing a MAJORITY of that up, BEFORE posting the first chapter of it….then I can feed my readers a little at a time…XD. Hope you enjoyed. Drop a line of review. And thank you Khalthar for being my beta.]**

**{Khalthar's note: You're welcome! XD}**


	9. The Finale

**[I don't own AVP. Just my characters, and my ideas. XD.]**

Chapter Nine: The Finale

"Who's a good little kitty-kitty? Who's a good little kitty-kitty?" Terra cooed, scratching a black cat underneath the head. "Yes… you are Rh'vage. You are…" Another cat mewed, hopping up on the bed beside the young girl seeking love too and she started petting it. This one was a white cat, unlike the black one who was curled up beside her. "Oh, don't worry Vis'chus. I'll give you love too…." A soft knock sounded on her door and got her attention. She rolled over on her bed to watch as Elizabeth came in.

"We going to the movies or what?" Elizabeth demanded, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"They finally stop questioning you?" Terra asked, blinking innocently and Elizabeth scowled angrily.

"Yeah; you got off pretty easy, after screaming about evil-kitties," Liz muttered, and then smiled slightly as a ginger-cat pushed past her to get into the room. "Hey Mh'dur. What's up?" She picked the cat up and it protested loudly, forcing her to drop it again, or get clawed to death by it. "So…Meet me downstairs whenever you're ready….but remember. The movie's in about twenty minutes. It takes fifteen minutes to get there. So, hurry it up." She turned and left. The black cat leapt off the bed and followed its ginger companion out the door. Terra grinned, grabbing her purse and was almost out the door when a soft hissing sound emerging from the closet got her attention. She froze almost solid as the closet door slowly pushed itself open.

-Beginning of the end-

"This way," Terra muttered, as she stopped and pointed. "You three going to be okay? Anyone know how we're even getting out of here?" Daniel pushed past her.

"I distract the evil kats…you guys find the open access door that's in that general direction. Vis'chus used it when he came in…he'll get everyone out," Daniel told her.

"What about you?" Elizabeth demanded in immediate concern.

"I'll be there," Daniel promised quickly, before racing off into the darkness. They heard shouting, then cursing and a weird scurrying sound.

"Mmm….my hero," Terra slurred out, in a teasing tone. "Okay…how do we set some bombs?" She tilted her head questioningly as Mh'dur strolled forward, plucking something off of both Rh'vage and Vis'chus's gauntlets. He waved them slightly in the air before continuing down the tunnel. "Um…do we go with him?"

"No…," Vis'chus murmured and glanced at Rh'vage. "Brother. I promised to help the two girls out of the mall…"

"I know," Rh'vage said and his hand clamped Vis'chus' shoulder. "Be careful…I'll see you when I get out." Then Rh'vage was moving swiftly through the tunnel, before vanishing into the darkness.

"So…no boom for us?" Terra questioned disappointedly and Vis'chus shook his head quickly.

"I must get you two to safety…," Vis'chus said, trailing off as if he wanted to do something else.

"Vis…dude…how bad is it?" Elizabeth questioned, touching his arm lightly. Even Terra gave him a sympathetic look.

"Aw…you want to make sure your brother and mentor get out of here okay…I KNOW…how about we ALL go-," Terra started and was cut off when a few Xenomorphs jumped them from out of seeming nowhere. Vis'chus rolled sideways, disappearing into the dark with one of the evil-cats snarling and hissing at him, while trying to bite and claw him at the same time. But that wasn't the only one of the evil kats as Terra and Elizabeth would forever call them.

"AH! EVIL CAT!" Elizabeth shrieked in fear as she began trying desperately to push the thing off. It weighed too much for her to move. Its second jaw snapped out, stopping a mere centimeter from her face. Too close, WAY too close! She pushed even harder, and couldn't see Terra anywhere. Damn it all.

&(&^ (&^*()&&*(*& (&^()*&*( )(&^()*& )(*()(*& )()*& )(&)& )(&(

"_What__'__s__the__plan?_" Rh'vage questioned quietly as he followed his mentor down the tunnel way to an intersection that opened into a larger chamber room. Mh'dur gave a light shake of his head, holding a hand up to stop Rh'vage as they slowed down. Their helmet's navigation system wasn't working and he couldn't really tell where the enemies were. The were going into a battle zone completely blind, and none of them were happy about that, but Mh'dur still couldn't figure out what was causing the Cetanu cursed problem.

"_Set__the__fuse__…__and__annihilate__the__entire__structure__completely,__and__the__hard__meat__with__it,_" Mh'dur said as if that made complete sense," _Track__down__any__stragglers__and__eliminate__all__of__them._"

"_…__and__…__afterwards?_" Rh'vage questioned and smacked into his mentor when Mh'dur stopped walking. Something seemed off to him but he couldn't tell what it was. There was no movement anywhere.

"_I__go__home__to__my__mate_," Mh'dur growled under his breath, sneaking forward. A loud hiss caught their attention and both of them turned to see the Queen watching them like an ooman cat watches a mouse.

"_…__How__long__has__she__been__there?_" Rh'vage questioned stupidly. Both had to duck and roll as her powerful tail smashed down exactly where they'd just been. The queen hissed loudly and angrily, flicking her tail up and around, the edge seeming to glisten dangerously as it flicked through the air again and sliced across Mh'dur's chest cutting into him. Luminescent green blood dripped down his chest, painting him as a clear and obvious target, although the wound wasn't serious or even debilitating, just annoying. The queen roared, and began lumbering forward towards them. Rh'vage flicked his wrist blades out, dashing towards her and slicing into one of her legs as he rolled beneath her. Acidic blood sprayed the floor and she roared again, angrily as she tried to catch him. His metal blades sliced into her tail, and he had to duck and roll to avoid being splattered by that same acidic blood as she flicked the remains of her tail ruthlessly. Her massive size had her confined in this small space and her movement was severely hindered, which the two Yautja were using to their definite advantage to inflict numerous wounds upon her. Sure, Rh'vage wasn't using his plasma guns right now but firing them off like an idiot in close-range combat against was not only incredibly stupid, it was just plain suicidal. He didn't particularly like using the clawed wrist blades, but he was fairly skilled with using them. He snarled as he got caught in the chest by the queen's tail and was slammed painfully into a wall.

"HEY! UGLY!" A female voice suddenly shouted. It was a voice that was familiar. FAR too familiar. He flicked through a few different mask views before picking out Elizabeth and Terra. Terra was waving her hands in the air like a total idiot. Elizabeth scooped up a rocklike piece of debris from the damaged structure and threw it at the queen. Vis'chus was nowhere to be seen. He spotted Mh'dur struggling to his feet. Somehow, Mh'dur had lost all of the detonators. They were still active though, and they were STILL counting down. Well pauk. Rh'vage struggled upwards.

"IDIOTS! GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE!" He beckoned at the floor in general, unable to see where the devices had gone. Then he noticed Terra was holding something in her hand. He took a closer look and immediately realized to his disbelief and dismay, that it was one of the bombs. PAUK!

"WE KNOW!" Terra shouted back and that stopped Rh'vage's line of thought. If they knew, then why did she still have it with her? The queen roared, enraged and lumbered after them but slammed into the top of the wall. She couldn't escape because she was too big. One problem with being a queen; was the huge size that resulted. The queen snarled, struggled and continued trying to get to the human girls. Terra waved the device in her hand as she taunted the queen almost happily. Why? Rh'vage didn't know, and he wasn't really sure that he wanted to know at this point. Instead of trying in obvious vain to understand the strange ooman female, he hurried over to help Mh'dur up. "You two get the hell out of here! We've got this one!" Elizabeth called out as she nodded, and Rh'vage was confused. This place was going to explode. They were holding one of the bombs, and one other had been lost somewhere. Mh'dur scooped something up, but almost fell down. He was losing blood, and he pressed the second bomb into Rh'vage's hand. Elizabeth suddenly snatched the bomb from Terra's hand and darted forward. Both Yautja warriors watched in mounting disbelief as the ooman female dropped into a rather fast slide across the slick floor as the queen tried in vain to get her.

"Please work," the girl muttered, before jerking her arm upwards and wedging the bomb into the queen's underbelly, between the overlap of two plates in her armor. Rh'vage leapt forward, slamming the second bomb into her in the same fashion, before he snatched Elizabeth up and turned to run. His motion detector indicated that Terra was doing much the same. She wouldn't be able to make it fast enough, he feared. They were weaving through the tunnel way, like an underground network when Rh'vage located a door. They could hear the enraged bellows of the Queen as she tried to follow them but couldn't because of her immense size. Rh'vage's shoulder mounted weapon whirled to life and blasted a hole out of the mall for them. Cool air was sucked in with such force that it almost knocked Rh'vage over. He tightened his grip on the girl in his arms and dashed forward with his mentor right behind them. An explosion ripped through the air. The concussion from the powerful blast grabbed them and threw them all several yards forward. Rh'vage managed to keep his grip on Elizabeth and rolled in such away that the most injury she'd receive was to have the breath knocked out of her. The two laid on the ground some distance away with Elizabeth flat on his chest. The mall was gone. Completely leveled. The girl on his chest started to shake slightly, and Rh'vage was instantly worried, but then a strange giggle escaped her mouth.

"You okay?" He asked, his mask translating to her language. She nodded, still giggling almost demently.

"We're alive…oh…we're alive…and the evil kitties are gone," she murmured happily, her head laying flat against his chest. His claws idly went to her hair, running through it soothingly. Neither of them said a word as they laid there. A hissing sound caught their attention as a Xenomorph slinked forward through the tree line towards them. Mh'dur scrambled upwards but was too late-a pair of metal claw like blades sliced through it and it fell to the ground; acidic blood bubbling out of a fatal wound. Vis'chus to the rescue. He huffed as he sliced one of its fingers off. Small and to a point. Terra stumbled through the trees towards them, almost getting shot as Rh'vage stood up with his shoulder cannon whirling to life. He deactivated it once he became aware of who it was.

"Ew…Vis'chus…what are you doing; mutilating it?" Terra demanded in disgust while shaking her head. "That's gross." Elizabeth got up and crossed the ground towards Vis'chus to look at it; she stopped with a slight shake of her head then turned to Rh'vage to ask what the guy was doing with it. Mh'dur took it from Vis'chus and used it to swipe a strange symbol onto Elizabeth's shoulder.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?" Liz snarled, whirling around on him. Mh'dur then turned to Terra, offering the mutilated finger to Vis'chus. Terra quirked an eyebrow.

"So…can I PICK a location?" Terra questioned and Vis'chus nodded.

"oh so WAIT, Terra can pick but I can't?" Liz demanded angrily while crossing her arms under her chest over her midriff.

"You would've objected," Mh'dur replied quickly as if that made complete sense, "It is a special mark…Not very important to you, but very important to us; to our culture…We must be off now…we have to make sure that all the hard-meat died…and I suspect you two must deal with the proper authorities…" He indicated the police sirens, along with a few ambulances and some fire trucks that were fast approaching. The three then disappeared as they all engaged their camouflage.

"Now what…?" Liz murmured, turning to look at Terra. Terra was holding her shirt up to look at her newest tattoo around her belly button.

"Hunh?" Terra asked, dropping her shirt. "Oh…I'm going home…and taking a shower…A long HOT shower…" She muttered softly as she headed off into the distance. Elizabeth sighed and followed her. They were stopped and questioned by several people. Elizabeth told the truth about the evil demonic cats that had been attacking them. Terra just went on and on about how they were saved by buff men in special armor, which the police thought she meant that the army had been involved. A cover-story circulated around that a gas line had broken, and exposure to the gas had caused the girls to hallucinate some rather odd events before the mall simply exploded because of what had most likely been some type of electrical spark or even a pilot light from one of the many eateries inside. Terra went with that, but Elizabeth was exceedingly stubborn, and faithfully stuck to the truth, which was why she got stuck being questioned for a long period of time. Once they were both finally released, Elizabeth helped Terra pick out some cats, and everything pretty much went back to normal for them…minus a few kids who were now absent from their high school.

-After Blast-

Terra was slowly making her way home from school. It'd been a few days after the horrible incidents at the mall. She had no problem accepting that she'd hallucinated it all, minus the fact that both she and Elizabeth had similar markings on them which meant that the events had actually occurred. Too bad that she hadn't been able to get either of the nice looking Predator's phone numbers. The school Prom was coming up and she would've seriously liked to take one of them as a date. She was whistling softly to a song that'd been stuck in her head all day, when she suddenly heard it. Soft growling sounds, and some hissing. So of course, she'd wandered into the woods to find the source of the noise.

"Mr. Limp?" She called out, after spotting one of the evil cat creatures. It turned towards her, and she realized it wasn't Mr. Limp. This one was very different. It had a ridged head like the queen in a way, but then it had mandibles like the Predators. Even its toes were different. It stalked closer to her, but didn't make any aggressive moves towards her, but instead seemed to be observing her for some reason. "Oh…you must be someone else…Sorry…I confused you…Um…Can I call you Crabface?" The thing tilted its head to one side slowly, as if regarding her. "Yeah…good…okay…come on…I'll take you home with me…" She reached forward, and taking one of its hands while she made sure that it followed her to her house where she snuck it inside and upstairs to her room. It was pretty big too. "Okay, okay…here…." She started pulling things out of her walk-in closet before ushering the creature forward into it. "You STAY here…STAY!" She stressed, "I'll bring you something to eat…." She shut the closet door and hurried downstairs to her kitchen with a huge grin plastered on her face. She had just gotten another pet, and this one reminded her of some of the others. She grabbed an apple, taking a quick bite out of it and leaned against the counter. She figured that she could keep this a secret…yeah… after all...

What could possibly go wrong?

**[End Note: What could go wrong indeed? Well, that's for the second book. I know I know. Two short chapters and its all over? I ditch you guys for this LONG, and then whip out two short-aft chapters? I don't expect you to be very happy with me right now. Hell, I wouldn't be happy with me…but it just WASN'T working like I planned… I'd left this untouched for TOO long…but guess what. I'm working on the Sequel…which currently has NO name. But don't worry. I'll come back…and post a lil update on here…for the SEQUEL link, so if anyone is INTERESTED in seeing Rh'vage, Mh'dur, Vis'chus, Elizabeth, and Terra EXPAND…that's where it's going to happen. I can already PROMISE that the sequel holds so much MORE promise then this little story did. I want to thank EVERYONE who stuck with me on this…Thank you guys, for all your reviews and EVERYTHING. I wouldn't have made it as far as I did without you guys. Thanks. I hope I kept some of you entertained until the end there. Um, special thanks to Khalthar. Just wait until the SEQUEL guys. It'll be EPIC when I post some of it….hehehe….]**


	10. Story Link to Sequel

.net/s/7837558/1/Entwined_Fates

This is the next story. It's called Entwined Fates.


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